I don’t know if it’s because I’m unwinding after a long night or what, but for whatever reason, the Middle East are totally working for me right now. The band plays just the right kind of lilting, subdued music that is perfect for the 3 a.m. drive home or when you’re letting the next morning sink into you. Apparently the songs on the band’s debut EP are a few years old now, and they’re all the better for it; exploring their music is like cracking open a forgotten bottle of wine.
It’s hard to call anything here a highlight, because each song is just as good as the other, but I find myself coming back to “Lonely” more and more this morning. The song is a seven-plus-minute slow burn that sounds content to just mope along as some macabre folk, until you hit those last two minutes and everything turns to wildfire. The explosive finale is the best moment on the EP, especially when the singer starts shouting over the racket.
“Blood” is some idyllic chamber-folk that, like “Lonely”, makes you wait a bit for the payoff. The singer’s voice sounds almost precious, like it might break at any moment, but then the harmonies wrap around everything like a lived-in sweater, making everything frightened feel safe again. The orchestration shimmers, and the choir that shows up near the end is the perfect touch to the song. Forget what I said about there not being a highlight. “Blood” wins. Or maybe “Lonely” does. Dammit, I might just need to stay up all night again to decide.
MP3 The Middle East – Lonely
MP3 The Middle East – Blood
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The Middle East, "Blood" (MP3 courtesy of AOL Spinner)WebsiteFacebookSpinner article<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SmCTCbyy4fE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SmCTCbyy4fE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
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"Blood"
from the EP The Recordings of the Middle East
2009
iTunes
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Meet Australia's best kept secret: The Middle East. The five-piece first released The Recordings of the Middle East themselves back in 2008 and sold it via their website. No doubt mesmerized by the band's irresistible magic, Spunk Records decided to reissue the five-track delight this year; a decision likely to make "original" fans produce a considerable pile of pretentious vomit at the thought of (gulp) the band becoming successful. But in reality, the Middle East are brimming with too much subtlety to hit the mainstream or duet with Timbaland and their music only reaching the ears of music snobs or industry players would be something of a criminal loss to music.
The EP itself is smothered by juxtaposing beauty and heartbreak, which are stripped back to their most addictive bare bones. From the delicate melodies and multi-layered vocals of "Fools Gold" to the enthralling bleakness of "Lonely," the Middle East lead you into their very own haunted fairytale as male vocals fuse with the tinkling of gentle chords.
Opening track "The Darkest Side" perfectly embodies the balance of melancholism and spine tingling enchantment that the five-piece have down to a fine art, something further complimented by first single "Blood," which sounds like the chilling progeny of Iron & Wine and Bon Iver.
Whilst on paper, the gentle tide that drapes across the band's debut EP could risk more ennui than an ITV2 Katie Price marathon, the Anthony Hagarty (of Anthony and the Johnsons)–esque wavering of truly unique sounding vocals conjure the feeling that to peel your intoxicated lugholes away from the five tracks would be to miss out on something significant. An idea that is validated by the surprisingly up-tempo guitar led "Beleriand," a track reminiscent of Manchester Orchestra in structure and that leaves us chomping at the bit to hear what delightful cacophony the full-length album will provide.
The Middle East is undoubtedly one of the most interesting bands to have slipped under the radar so far this year. With their gentle but inescapable hold on the listener something that seems even more effortless than their dark charm, their success is as inevitable as it is deserving. ~ Laura Routledge, Noize Makes Enemies
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"Blood" - The Middle East Over a stately acoustic guitar noodle that wouldn't sound out of place on a mid-career Genesis album, "Blood" unfolds slowly yet engages the ear instantly. (That's an advanced maneuver in the rock'n'roll style book, by the way.) The anticipation is delicious; the song doesn't fully cook until 2:55 but I don't think you'll be bored. Engaging musicianship, sensitive and creative arrangement, affecting vocals, intriguing and well-crafted lyrics, short-term melodies, long-term structure: this six-piece from northern Queensland offers a full arsenal, even--what the heck--a children's chorus before the thing is through. I read somewhere that this song tells the story of three different relationships, two ended by death, one by divorce, but don't expect to pick that up easily; the band's singer has a lovely, Bon Iver-esque tenor that functions more like an instrument than a tale-teller. We pick up the occasional sonorous phrase--"She woke up in a cold sweat on the floor"; "Burned by the sun too often when she was young"--but as the song develops musically, the words fade into the fabric of the composition, eventually to be left aside entirely once the central musical motif--a refrain first heard as a whistled melody at 2:01--rises in climactic, wordless, choral repetition two-thirds of the way through (the aforementioned children's chorus). Formed in 2005 in a quiet village near the Great Barrier Reef, the Middle East self-released an album entitled The Recordings of the Middle East in 2008. And then decided to break up. And eight months later decided to re-form, with some personnel changes. The original album was then given an Australia-wide re-release in abridged form as an EP by Spunk Records, an Australian label that happens also to release a lot of big-time American indie rock (Spoon, the Shins, Joanna Newsom, Okkervil River, et al). The EP made it to the U.S. late in 2009, and the band itself arrived for the first time this spring and is currently touring here. MP3 via Spinner.
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Blood - The Middle Eastvia Spinner
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Filed under: Free MP3 Download of the Day Artist: The Middle East Song: 'Blood'Album: 'The Middle East' [iTunes]Sounds Like: Bon Iver, Rogue WaveDownload: 'Blood' (MP3)[Get Winamp] [Download Help]
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Filed under: Free MP3 Download of the Day Artist: The Middle East Song: 'Blood'Album: 'The Middle East' [iTunes]Sounds Like: Bon Iver, Rogue WaveDownload: 'Blood' (MP3)[Get Winamp] [Download Help]
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DOWNLOAD: The Middle East - Blood (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Middle East - The Darkest Side (MP3)
The Middle East's 2nd US show was packed (more by Tim Griffin)
The Middle East's tour with Mumford & Sons has two NYC stops - May 17th at MHOW and May 18th at Webster Hall. Both are now sold out, and both are The Middle East playing opener.
It didn't seem right to not let them also play their own show during their first visit to NYC. Conveniently, May 19th was a day off on the tour, so... BrooklynVegan is proud to present (again) The Middle East at Mercury Lounge on Wednesday, May 19th. Tickets will go on sale Friday at noon. Opener TBD.
The Australian band will spend a total of two months touring North America in April, May and June. During that time (they tour for a month with Mumford and) they play Coachella, Sasquatch and Bonnaroo. Two top-notch songs from their The Recordings of The Middle East EP, out now, are posted again above. All tour dates and a video of the group performing "Blood" for KCRW at SXSW, below...
Continue reading "The Middle East add 3rd NYC show & other 2010 tour dates " at BrooklynVegan.com
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It was May of last year when I stumbled upon (the then) defunct Australian collective The Middle East, a group of seven musicians crafting achingly beautiful folk/rock tunes. After sharing the remarkable track "Blood" to a slew of supporters, the group quickly started gaining momentum stateside and (thank goodness) decided disbanding wasn't the wise decision it originally seemed to be. SXSW marked The Middle East's first US shows and having enjoyed their debut The Recordings Of The Middle East so much, I couldn't wait to catch them live.[MP3] The Middle East - BloodThe first thing you should know when seeing this large collective in concert, they're absolutely terrible at soundchecking. Perhaps it's a laid-back Australian trait, but the Galaxy Room was packed for their show and it took them a solid 20+ minutes to get everything the way they wanted it. Of course, this cut a nice and lengthy setlist down to only four songs or so but they still managed to make some fantastic sounding lemonade out of their self-inflicted lemons. Their three-part harmonies live are mesmerizing and they implement so many unique forms of instrumentation like bells, shakers, xylophone, flutes, strings, accordion, flute, trumpet, and my personal favorite: a giant walking stick with beer bottle tops tacked on that shake as it's stomped into the ground. The band mixed in a few new songs that had an upbeat tempo, really entrenched in a rustic Australian folk vein sounding unlike anything I've ever heard from bands of similar composition. Their live set always stays fresh since they have two male leads with completely different vocals mixed with an absolutely charming female vocalist who does well backing and crooning verses solo too. They brought the house down with renditions of "The Darkest Side" and especially "Blood" - a track so beautiful the longer-than-normal applause it sustained should come as no surprise. The Middle East are still perfecting their live mechanics but are well on their way to becoming the complete package. Click below for lots more great photos!
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I have a feeling that The Middle East will be this SXSW’s Mumford and Sons. They’ve got the Fleet Foxes harmonies thing going on (so hot right now, hansel) and have a good buzz going into the festival. It may be somewhat of an A&R frenzy too as it seems that the band has stayed holed up in Australia making an album. Build it and they will come. Regardless, I’m really excited to see how this beautiful song translates live.
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The Middle East – Blood (mp3)
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A band that a lot of people are looking forward to hearing more of are The Middle East from Australia. Back in September I featured the brittle and beautiful sound of ‘Blood’. Now, also from last year’s The Recordings Of The Middle East albums comes this opening track.
‘The Darkest Side’ is five minutes of Sufjan-esque heart-rendering folk made all the more special by the flighty female vocalist. They are going to blow up in a big way at SXSW for sure.
MP3: The Middle East – The Darkest Side
And a reminder of how good ‘Blood’ is:
MP3: The Middle East – Blood
Various buy links for digital stores.
Related PostsNialler9 Weekly ChartMP3: The Middle East – Blood
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So here we are, my favourite songs of the year. What be they? How sound them? All is revealed.I think what strikes me about the music of the last twelve months is the blizzard of originality. An awful lot of new sounds were made. It's a little like the melting-pot at the centre of western music worked very well this year, because a lot of these songs have influences that are wide and disparate. Is this list, taken as a whole, better than that of 2008? I think it just might be. But only just.The artwork is what Dublin looked like during the winter of 2009, or what it would have looked like if that winter had an iTunes library like mine. Dublin is a city that looks its best in the cold, I think. Christmas lights suit it.I hope you enjoy the list. Thanks to everyone who's read the blog this past year.46. The Bruce Peninsula - Inside, Outside<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/insideoutside.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>That was the day someone had stolen my violin. I spat and raged, and paced and pounded, and cursed and spilt whiskey, and threw glasses and bottles. Outside the wind roared, and the rain lashed, threatening our windows. Someone was singing with my voice, and clapping time with my hands, so I started singing something, the first thing that fell from my tongue, and clapping as loudly as I could, and I shouted somethin's goin' on in the backyard!! and after a while, I got over it.45. Phoenix - Lisztomania<object width="305" height="25"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RrbGpvOulec&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RrbGpvOulec&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="305" height="25"></embed></object>In some weird way, this song sounds like going into a club where you go in and lose yourself in the song and in movement, and look down to see that the dance floor is dancing too.44. Blue Roses - I Am Leaving<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/iamleaving.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>Those guitars at the start: reeds swaying in a field. Everything else: this girl's memories of a place that she can't bring with her.43. Beat Radio - Sleepwalking<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/beatradiosleepwalking.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>So one day, you're playing guitar, trying to make sounds like thunder and rainfall and birdsong all at once, when your amplifier suddenly explodes, falls over, and keeps exploding. The temptation here would be to stop playing, and go look for an adult of some sort, but no! Instead you play on, using the explosions as rhythm, a kick drum beat that propels you on to make this whole mess into a gorgeous song, built on the one thing you're sure of - that this, this racket, this is just another way to have fun.42. Jay-Z + Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind<object width="305" height="25"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0UjsXo9l6I8&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0UjsXo9l6I8&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="305" height="25"></embed></object>Most of this song sounds like wandering around between buildings and people, and not getting much done, sort of waiting for something to happen - but then that chorus hits, or hits back, a reaction to any sort of inactivity, at anyone who's not smiling, or at least hoping. That chorus is something special.41. Sleep Thieves - City Lights<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/citylights.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>In the early hours of the morning we left the party, and started walking, and we walked all day. By the time we got back to our hometown, a shut-eyed little suburb out on the outskirts of the city, we noticed that things had changed. People were standing around, everybody we knew, or their parents, moving in lines, working in groups, working on buildings. It was like old footage of rubble women rebuilding cities after the war, but now they were fixing everything that had seemed to have gone wrong, removing the cracks in windows, polishing the signs in bus shelters, cleaning streets, replacing racist graffiti with smiley faces. We walked past them all, trying to take it in, but the long night had left us with heavy eyes, and we were ushered to bed. By the time we woke, the town was shadowed by the light of the moon.40. Tale of Tales - For All Times<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/foralltime.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This is a Sunday evening spent wandering around an empty home. A delicate guitar line is picked out like rain hitting the windows, leaving you content to be inside from the cold. His voice, heavy and rough at first, mellows its way into the song till it gets to the warmth at the heart of it. This feels like spending the day at home with the one you love, like any other day, but completely aware of just how lucky you are to be there.39. Efterklang - Modern Drift<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/moderndrift.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This is Efterklang at their best, meaning: thrills, space, sounds that come up to you and sing in your ear. It's a fine song, and it's so so easy to get carried away listening to it. You want other people to be there too, you want it to be one of those moments where great crowds of people are flooding through streets, and for once, they're not searching for happiness, but bringing it with them, sweeping up all they see, everyone around the next corner wondering what the noise is, those at the last corner trying to keep up with the frenzy.38. Sunset Rubdown - Idiot Heart<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/idiotheart.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>Ouch. That hurt. Let's do it again.37. Sufjan Stevens - You Are The Blood<object width="305" height="25"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ma-l-2izB_s&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ma-l-2izB_s&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="305" height="25"></embed></object>I won't say too much about this, what with it being a cover and all, and with Sufjan being capable of better things. But wow. Imagine making a song like that.36. Why? - This Blackest Purse<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/thisblackestpurse.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song is good for those days when it feels like everything was better when you were too young to understand it. When you get nostalgic and remember the joy of getting up early on Saturday mornings. Sugar on your cereal. Waterfights and remote controls. And best of all, warm summers. This song is all about getting rain when you'd planned for sunshine. It's also ridiculously good.35. tUnE-yArDs - SunlightI see this song as being a little like living in a rundown shack, putting on some music, and the frantic drumbeats seem to be like the shafts of sun peering in the holes in the roof. In a good way, obviously.34. Nils Frahm - Ambre<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/ambre.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song was recorded in the Grunewaldkirche in Berlin. It is nothing but piano and empty space. It is dark and quiet, and going into a dark and quiet church is something neither my family or I have done for some time, but we are doing it again now, both fearful and sceptical. It's always too quiet for me, too full of statues of people who are only half-there. But I like the sound of this. It's like sitting up high, by a blue stained-glass window somewhere, and staying very still. Like staying still and quiet enough, so that I am only half-there too.33. The Holy Roman Army - Stagger Gently Home<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/staggergentlyhome.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song is imbued with city nightlife. Not the drunken pub-crawling, but the lonely wandering after the last club has shut its doors, looking up at dawn stretching the night out of the sky, and streetlights still lit, keeping watch and taking care. Not drunk enough to be senseless, but enough to feel the outer world creeping in.32. Sharon van Etten - Much More Than That<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/muchmorethanthat.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The love here is real, and honest, and it's not likely to give up. This song sounds like something a girl might leave on your voicemail, drawing you in, winning you over.31. Thao Nguyan - Know Better Learn Faster<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/thaoknow.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>A woman sits in her car, holding steady, instruments in the back, driving away from the one she loves, not knowing when they'll meet again. She passes landmarks, mountains, hotels, and eventually she pulls in by the side of the road and lays down on the passenger side to sleep. She dreams that it's morning, the flickering sunlight wakes her, and she sees her car is moving, shifting gear, turning. She's sleepy, she thinks it's her instruments, taking control, and bringing her back to the one she loves, the source of all her songs and words. When she wakes up, she plays her violin, and it sounds like the one in this song.30. El Perro Del Mar - Change of HeartThis song breaks hearts, just for the way it gets across, quite clearly, that they can't be changed to suit anyone else. It's just as well it's inescapably gorgeous, or I'd have a hard time listening to it.29. David Deporis - Emancipation<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/emancipation.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The way he sings this song, right from the start, is like he's beside you. It's something you understand immediately, like some familiar feeling, like hiding inside your favourite warm jacket, pulling the softened sleeves long over your fingers, digging your chin into your collar for warmth. That's all this song tries to be, something to keep us warm, something to take the edge off the cold, showing you the kind of comfort that comes from other people.28. St. Vincent - The Strangers<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/thestrangers.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song is like all those Disney cartoons we watched as kids, but all grown up, Alice going back to Wonderland as an adult. Annie Clark uses the same lazy winding tunes that my kid self loved, and wraps them around her earnest lyrics, and instrumental uneasiness. It works on me, and I remember that an adult is just a grown-up child, and I sit listening to this song again and again, loving it.27. Burywood - Things Which Give Us Pause<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/thingswhichgiveuspause.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>I had a dream about this song. I dreamt that way back when, whenever our heads evolved the need for sleep, things went differently, and what wakes us up no longer did - in fact, it did the opposite. I dreamt that falling asleep was a struggle, a feat of concentration, and the ideal circumstances for it were loud noises and violent movement. Like the start of this song. People would listen to this with big headphones, trying to get a bit of shut-eye, this fleet of guitars cresting waves of colour. Couples would scream at each other until they fell over onto the bed, energy expended, and they would have dreams of each other's laughing faces, because people look funny when they make loud noises. Slumber would be well-earned, not something to be staved off, but to be cherished. And people would love those who brought them to sleep as gently and lovingly as possible.26. Local Natives - Airplanes<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/airplanes.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>There's something world-conquering about this song, in the momentous stomping of the drums, and the simple strings, the direct and honest delivery of sweetly sad lyrics. It's some narrator standing in a room, fingers kicking and tapping across a gently turning globe, dotting different locations and memories: I loved you, here, here and here. It's the entire stretch of a love affair, holding it at both ends like a piece of jewellery, some handmade necklace filled with more love in its length of string, and flat-worn chunk of wood, than in any pearl. It's where things stop and start, showing that there's nothing separating the points where he ends, and she begins.25. Bibio - Fire Ant<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/fireant.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>Hearing someone make music this inventive, irreverent and playful makes me want to go back in time with an iPod and tell someone: this is what music sounds like in the future. And in some weird, disconnected way, I'd be proud.24. Deradoorian - You Carry The Deed<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/youcarrythedeed.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>I have a thing about abandoned buildings. Everywhere I go, I gaze at them as though I can't stop taking them in, and can't help but imagine the last person leaving, locking the door of what was once their business, or their home, or their factory.I'll always enjoy living in an old building with scratched paint, a battered wooden stairwell, and a dangerous stairs winding down to a dank and dark cellar. It would become my home quicker than a space on the shelf of a bright new apartment block.Buildings like these have seen people come and go. The hard-working inhabitants or workers, they loved the place once, and had to leave it to nothing, leave it abandoned to nature, or vandals, or steady, unnoticed decay. You can see it easily, the desertion, the neglect, the hurt.23. Mixylodian - Fairly Well<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/fairlywell.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song can't be listened to once, it doesn't work that way: you need to get familiar with it, let it in, until it stays on your mind. That tapping at the start, it's like your mind turning on, starting up, running your life again. These things will come back after you've forgotten the song's name, or where you heard it. And after that it only gets better, when you finally come back to it and decide that maybe it's right for you after all.22. Super Extra Bonus Party - Comets {feat. Heathers}<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/comets.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>As soon as this song kicks off, you know that it's one of those rare and surprising instances where everything seems to go together perfectly. Between the lunar guitar lines and the insistent vocals telling us to close our eyes, the entire mood of this thing is like being out on a summer night, at some vantage point over a city that once felt new and strange, but suddenly feels like it's yours. It feels like your home, where your friends are. And though it's starting to grow cold, you'd rather stay, because you like seeing it like this, everything at once, not as big and distant as you'd once thought. You only ever feel this for places you come to love.21. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/home.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>There's nothing like the yelp of someone in love.20. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Don't Haunt This Place<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/donthauntthisplace.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song sounds to me like being boxed in to some old home. The drums are the noisiest thing, thin and stocky, like walls that are so close you're always leaning against them. The keys are soft and warm, laid with the vocals, soft and almost conversational, the people kept close to you. The violin groans along gently like the old brass water pipes that keep the place heated. Everything is near and close, a family of things bumping off one another, gathering speed to crash at the chorus, finally overflowing and shouting about the things that aren't right, the things that just aren't there.19. Golden Holy - Sons of Dreams<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/sonsofdreams.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>If you want a band to get really excited over, if you want a band that lays their guitar squalls down over the drums, then chants wordless whoops over them, with claps, accordion and strings thrown in, then this, dear reader, is that band. This song in particular makes you want to get up and run immediately to some special place, or some special person, to start doing the kind of things that send your heart leaping to your mouth, to get a glimpse of what you've planned for it. It really is that gorgeous.18. Harlem Shakes - Winter Water<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/winterwater.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>In the future, musical boxes will sound like this. The little enamel case on your grandmother's dresser, the one you claimed for yourself and brought to your messy home, that little box will click open to this song, and perfect little animatronic figures with little voices and little guitars will follow you about the house in a line - banging drums and singing a chorus as you get ready to join the day that waits outside the front door. They stand there, half watching you busy yourself with your spider-black mascara, half calling out from their tiny mouths for your attention. You put your hair up, and let it down again, and you almost forget they are there huddled behind you like mice, calling at you around corners, till they follow you as you open the door, and you feel the music change. You can feel them throw every bit of cheeriness into the song that they can muster, but they're not hiding their sadness at seeing you go.17. The Luyas - Spherical Mattress<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/sphericalmattress.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>If you've had one of those dreams, you'll know the feeling. A night when unexpected emotional intensity gets into your head, from God Knows Where. Walking around, with everything tinted and changed, same skin but a different life, holding hands, or carrying the weight. It could be some new love or just the memory of it, but it's enough to leave you disjointed and half-grieving when you awake. You walk around trying to figure out how something you didn't even mean to imagine could have left this gaping hole in your chest, and this tight hold on your heart, and all you can do is wait for it to fade away as the day goes on, like a bruise healing, or the way the creases in your pillow-case have vanished by night time.16. Dappled Cities - Apart<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/apart.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>If you were putting on a show for a friend, this would be the song at the very end, that you play while everything in the story is happily resolved. This is what it sounds like, letting unhappiness fall behind you like a leaf, and moving on. Getting out of an unhappy bed and going out in the world, enjoying it while the sun shines. Getting on a plane in the depths of winter and getting out where it's sunny. Little acts like that, the kind of things that make a good person.15. The Middle East - Blood<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/blood.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The way it builds up and descends at the end, it's like wandering around a cold, wintry city, waiting to sit down with someone at the end of it all. Like doing your Christmas shopping, investing yourself in the promised joy of it all, the great times when almost everyone you know agrees to be happy by convention, and it actually works. I can't tell if those are kids shouting at the end, or if I just think they are, because they sound so sure and so content. This song is an instant good mood.14. O Emperor - Po<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/po.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song starts off all woozy and understated, maybe a little drunk. Guitar strings are plucked like lights dancing around shadows, and the vocals shift and seethe around the lyrics, detailing the story of Po, and it's not long before you begin to feel like you're seated in the corner of some dimly lit pub watching someone stalk around, growing more and more interested by the second. It's testament to the band's abilities as musicians that they manage to keep the song this dark, and yet hike the tension as slowly as possible. It's done expertly, and it's almost reminiscent of The National, the way everything seems in line, down to the finest detail.13. Twin Sister - I Want A House<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/iwantahouse.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>Every time I try to write a poemI worry about the number of words in each lineand it occupies meuntil I see them weighed down like shelvingcrowded with half empty glasses and half read books.Every time I write a poemit is like decorating a new bedroomand moving into a new apartment.I wonder what little corner-hidden mistakeI will allow to remain this year.I try and flatten it into what I wantand cut out the bloatbut some words are already worn ina loaf blooming out of its tin while baking.Six months from nowwe may look at each otherover four feet of silenceand agree that we missteppedhoping to walk backwards togetheruntil we find something familiar.This is the same feeling.But so far this poem seems to be going well.12. Cortney Tidwell - So We Sing<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/sowesing.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This is one of those songs that starts with such a rush of bewildering happiness, it makes you want to run out the door in joy. It's sunny and warm and ecstatic, and listening to it the first time is a little like watching someone beautiful having fun. There's such perfection in every minute of it, the layered guitars swaying together like the folds of a dress, the vocals that jump about like words leaping between people's mouths, that you think this song could do something. If you took it outside, and sang it loudly, with everyone around you listening, you could make the sun come out, you could make the sky blue, you could make summer get here early.11. Burial/Four Tet - Moth<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/moth.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>This song is for dancing, but also for flowing drunkenly down a street, walking beneath the streetlights of East Berlin, looming like soldiers, spilling yellow onto the street, oil and light mixing by the footpath. You look ahead and see young men crouched by a wall, writing something indecipherable. You look up and see a single red light blotting above everything in the distance, and the buildings around you stand tall and crowded, a city falling into itself. You stumble on the cobbles, and notice the beat in this song, hidden in some basement club. You want to dance with someone, but you've been alone all night.10. Bell Orchestre & Elizabeth Powell - Lazy Love {live}<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/lazylove.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The beauty embedded and ingrained in every line of this song is oddly familiar. It's like something completely aware and accepting of its circumstances, its limited life, its inevitable defeat by it. But until then this love is supreme, standing firm and proud, like a statue by the ocean, lashed by wind and rain, but pointing out to sea nonetheless. That's the love here, a heart that doesn't quit for a second. And fuck, just listen to that chorus.This might not technically be of this year, but I only found it this summer, and I'm such a fool for love songs like this that I'm willing to overlook 'Elephant', which may be the best thing Bell Orchestre have ever done on their own.9. Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move<object width="305" height="25"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YMPF6lpM0XM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YMPF6lpM0XM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="305" height="25"></embed></object>The sun came up, quickly at first, then slowly, travelling towards me as I walked on, amongst damp and glistening blades of grass, and insects heading homewards, dropping their heads into the sticky earth, and then, in a good mood, and remembering I was writing all this, I made all the flowers around me bloom in vivid and gaudy colours, like drips from some melted rainbow, surprised by my morning sun.I headed away from the dying night behind me, and taken up with a sudden love and ecstatic joy, I began to run and leap and fly in little bounds, and the birds wheeled in the sky and clouds formed and dissolved sadly, and the sun burned fiercely for me, and in the distant greatness the few stars that remained exploded or didn't and every molecule of my being hummed with some content smile, and happiness bloomed out of everything! And I wanted to take that exclamation mark I just created, and place it as a cloud in the sky for all the country to see, and I did. Or maybe I just listened to this beautiful, beautiful song a few times, and let my mind wander.8. Cathy Davey - Little Red<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/littlered.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The glorious melody that takes off a minute into this song is like an answer to a distress call, but not one of panic, or worry. It's like some small consolation, a reassurance, a you-are-not-alone. It takes this song, unassuming in its jaunty little rhythm and two-chord switch, and rises above it, turning the scene inside your head from a worrisome little bedroom song into something more epic, and expansive, a landscape of valleys and the echos that flow between them, a landscape big enough to fit such a call. More and more voices rise up light like kites, or heavy like balloons, until everyone knows that everyone knows they are not alone.7. Animal Collective - My Girls<object width="305" height="25"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zol2MJf6XNE&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zol2MJf6XNE&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="305" height="25"></embed></object>There is a moment here - 1.27 in - when the song starts up like someone has lit a fuse. After that it becomes something incredible, the sound of beautiful melodies battling in space, and even though that's paired with a simple declaration of a father's love for his family, it seems to fit perfectly. To the moon and back.6. Villagers - Pieces<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/pieces.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>You may think, at first, that this song is a bit of a meandering old-timer, repeating itself. But you'll wake up one morning, and it'll be there with you. You'll go about your day, and every little tap you make will be the snare here, starting a beat and bringing you along. You'll hear that hook floating around in the background everywhere you go, and you'll put the song on repeat until you know it off by heart, and it will keep you warm.5. A Classic Education - Best Regards<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/bestregards.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>What's that? Yes, I've taken this test many times, and it was the best thing I ever did. One more question, and yes of course I will answer a few for you. If you could go back and do something differently, would you?Sorry - just a minute please, the question's not finished. If you could go back and do something differently, would you - would you spend more time with your mother? Would you have spent more time on that poetry, would you have gone walking in the hills near your family home? Would you have kissed that girl who was too shy to tell you how she felt? Would you have made sure you never ever said I love you without meaning it?I can see that this question has upset you. It is a rather long one... But not to worry, we have the perfect way to fix that sadness that rests on your face. Here, listen to this song. It has the answers - not necessarily the ones you want now, but something to help you find them. Apart from that, don't forget that it's summer. It's your time of the year, the sun is here warming the ground beneath your feet. And remember: you can never say no to a girl in a summer dress. I think that's what the song is really about, actually.4. The Antlers - TwoIf, like me, you've found yourself staring out your bedroom windows lately wondering how to make sense of such massive accumulations of snow, and such unrelenting cold, here's a song to help. This is what it would sound like if the snow talked back, and showed you all the fun to be had, finger-numbing cold or not. It's -17°C outside, but my friends tell me about the best hill for sledding, and where the best snow is to build big snowmen. That's what this song reminds me of: a little like if snow came with instructions for use. This is how music helps us make sense of new things that seem big and overbearing, snow, or love or other weird natural phenomena like that.3. Auld Lang Syne - Red Feather<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/redfeather.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>'Red Feather' is both achingly sad and glowingly beautiful. It's sung by Timmy Gallogly, from whom (unlike Timothy Dick, the band's main vocalist) I had heard little before this record. It's simply astonishing, the kind of gentle epitaph to a faded relationship that just gets into you to become the tear in your eye, the lump in your throat, the pounding in your chest. It's got some of my favourite lines of the year:"Phoenix can pick herself up off the floor / that don't mean she's rising againGo on red feather, fly off out the door / I can never make you happy again"It's not easy to listen to.2. Final Fantasy - The Great Elsewhere (FM4)<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/thegreatelsewherefm4.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The now-released album version is better, but for most of the year I was in thrall to this live version, loving it for its energy, its devotion to every single beat, the precision it gives to getting everything right. And the song itself is perfect, note for note.1. DM Stith - Braid of Voices<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/braidofvoices.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The finest song on the finest album of the year. It starts, gentle and lonely, a three chord movement, like a musical figure falling into bed from exhaustion - but from here it goes many places. A sinister cavern of noise, a sad moment in a familiar place, a grim realisation. There are refrains that bring us to think of ourselves honestly and without fear, the blue light, the home town. And it ends with the singer bringing himself to the fore, addressing himself by name and suddenly pulling the listener in close, in a shock, making sure they can see what's been going on before their eyes.---That's that. I know 46 is an arbitrary number, and I could probably have stretched it to 50, but I didn't feel like stretching it. I hope you like the artwork; you can compare them with the originals here if you like. Again, thanks for reading!
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It's the 25th of December and, aside from Christmas, we've assembled 25 of our favorite albums from 2009. There were some sensational albums this year and being forced to only pick out a fraction of our favorites was certainly frustrating. However, our ears have heard tons of music over the past year and we're proud of our picks - some you'll be expecting, while unfamiliar others you're going to need to spin soon. Without further ado, here are The Best Albums of 2009:Harlem Shakes - Technicolor HealthIt's always disappointing to see a band like Harlem Shakes break up. Once the most energetic and must-see band of SXSW '09, now they're destined to be forgotten. Technicolor Health was a very solid debut, highly entertaining and immensely fun from start to finish. These guys didn't rely on washed out 80s dance samples or computers or forced lo-fi, they didn't make music to conform to what they thought Pitchfork wanted to hear. They were completely, refreshingly unstylized, and I'm afraid their break-up marks more than just the loss of one band, but the move away art rock for rock's sake (instead of art's sake). At least in their wake we've got more ARMS to look forward to. - Connor[MP3] Harlem Shakes - SunlightMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundLetting Up Despite Great Faults - S/TIt really should come as no surprise that indie music, rather music in general, has ventured down a path where electronically intensified music is a trending topic that sounds great. From samples to glitchy soundboards, evolving technology has added a new weapon to each band's arsenal whilst opening the door to emerging acts like Letting Up Despite Great Faults. Their self-titled debut completely caught me off guard, a great LP full of synth, keyboards, and the delightful dichotomy of male/female vocal harmonies. Each track transports your ears to a different setting, there's no telling where they're headed to next. -Nathaniel[MP3] Letting Up Despite Great Faults - In StepsMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundA.C. Newman - Get GuiltyI'd like to think that with any listmaking we might do comes a duty to make sure albums aren't forgotten. Year-end lists can be very limiting, as if to say "these matter, the rest don't." A.C. Newman's sophomore LP Get Guilty has been neglected by nearly every list I've seen, yet it's nearly as strong as his debut and certainly something New Pornographers fans would love. With all the lo-tide/bro-fi of the year, simple indie rock records were tragically overlooked... and if you remember that once upon a time you were rocking out to early Spoon and Mass Electric instead of dubstep and minimalist electro, Get Guilty is the album for you. - Connor[MP3] A.C. Newman - Like A Hitman, Like A DancerMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundBat For Lashes - Two SunsThe musical growth of Natasha Khan over the past few years has been quite the sight to behold. Two Suns, her sophomore LP, was a concept album loosely based on the alter-ego Pearl (a direct foil of Khan herself). Thanks to Pearl, or perhaps Khan's own musical maturity, Two Suns soars from start to finish with enough mind-bending genre variety to keep even the most impulsive ears at bay. Album opener "Glass" is a frenetic fusion of chamber pot with traces of metal (wow), whilst lead-single "Daniel" capitalizes on an electro 80s-influence coupled with sensational strings. Two Suns catapults Bat For Lashes from the land of solid singles to the atmosphere of awesome albums. -Nathaniel[MP3] Bat For Lashes - DanielMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundReal Estate - S/TSome people call New Jersey the "armpit of America" while others (myself included) can only conjure images of bro's with too much hair gel taking jägerbombs. So how Real Estate emerged from Jersey with one of the better 2009 debuts is beyond me. Better yet, I'm not even sure how they managed to create a surf-rock sound with such stellar reverb you'd think they recorded their self-titled debut inside a seashell. The method to their madness lies within cyclical songs and meticulous melodies, providing the perfect pattern for an unassuming record to sweep one out of suburbia and onto a sandy beach. -Nathaniel[MP3] Real Estate - Fake BluesMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundLady Of The Sunshine - Smoking GunOne day in high school chemistry class, my teacher began professing her adoration for Albert Einstein and made sure to include his famous quote: "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." It doesn't take a Nobel Prize-winning physicist to understand what Einstein meant, however, it does take Lady of the Sunshine to hear what he meant. Australian Angus Stone separated himself from his sister Julia long enough to craft Smoking Gun, his first solo release. It's a beautiful folk album full of songs in a simpler vein, with enough electric guitar and overpowering emotion to retain your ear's attention from start to finish. Smoking Gun is the singer/songwriter with a guitar combination done right, do yourself a favor and listen as soon as humanly possible. - Nathaniel[MP3] Lady Of The Sunshine - Silver RevolverMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ iTunesHere We Go Magic - S/TYou know what's telling about Here We Go Magic? I remember the day I first heard "Tunnelvision" early in January '09-- it had just hit the web and everybody (from Ed Droste to the entire blogosphere) erupted into wonderment, fanning its beauty with anything they could. I read quotes from Ben Gibbard and Sufjan Stevens commenting on Luke Temple's angelic pipes. And unlike a lot of "too good to be true" press quotes, HWGM really was meeting every credit it was given: while this debut certainly isn't the best of the year or the most consistent throughout, it offers a unique style and sound: infinitely enchanting lyrical loops, dizzying guitar and bass textures, and a four-track embezzlement of hazy psychedelic noise to keep the project floating just above our heads... we can occasionally reach out and touch it, but we'll never completely capture it. - Connor[MP3] Here We Go Magic - TunnelvisionMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundLotus Plaza - The Floodlight CollectiveIt's unfortunate that The Floodlight Collective was as overlooked as it has been this year. Many people tend to associate the success of Deerhunter with Bradford Cox alone, a rather careless assumption considering how unlike Deerhunter his solo work as Atlas Sound is. Deerhunter's sound could be much more attributed to that of Lockett Pundt's Lotus Plaza project, and if you loved last year's Microcastle, especially "Nothing Ever Happened" and "Little Kids" (two best songs on there), you'll easily find a similar amount of alchemy and magic within the tracks on Floodlight (and if I got my way, the ranking of this and Atlas Sound's LP on our list would be switched). - Connor[MP3] Lotus Plaza - QuicksandMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundPortugal. The Man - The Satanic SatanistPrior to the release of The Satanic Satanist, Portugal. The Man were a band I'd only heard a few tracks - here and there - from different albums. It wasn't until catching their set at Outside Lands did I realize what a wonderful act they were (see them live - one of the best shows you'll see). The Satanic Satanist is an excellent rock album with inviting riffs and solid songwriting. Lead singer John Gourley has an impressive vocal range, hitting notes on "People Say" and "The Sun" that make us look absurdly silly when singing in our cars. If you're searching for this year's solid rock album with just enough funk and psychedlia to entertain your brain, look no further. - Nathaniel[MP3] Portugal. The Man - People SayMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundThe Middle East - The Recordings Of The Middle EastAustralia always seems to musically surprise me in some form or fashion, quitely churning out truly terrific acts. No Aussie outfit has excited me as much as The Middle East, whose debut LP The Recordings Of The Middle East came packed with loads of epic instrumentation. Aside from billowing strings and soft guitar picking, their beautiful harmonies make them instantly memorable. Upon first discovering "Blood" the band was somewhat sputtering and on hiatus; then the blogosphere gave them fresh breath, their LP was properly released, and hopefully enough wind's beneath their sails to send them Stateside. Fingers crossed, this band from Oz has a bright future. -Nathaniel[MP3] The Middle East - BloodMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ iTunesNirvana - Live at ReadingIt's safe to say: everyone knows about Nirvana. From pretentious music critics to casual CD spinners, Nirvana have served as a generational medium nearly every human being with functioning eardrums is familiar with. Whether it was something Kurt Cobain intended to do or not, his band became the torchbearers for a new musical movement responsible for rewriting the formula for an entire genre. Although Live At Reading has been an infamous bootleg for years, 2009 witnessed an official release complete with a full (color) DVD and mastered tracklist. It epitmoizes everything about Nirvana that made me obsessed with them during 8th grade. With a tracklist touching on material from the band's entire career and an energry intensified by the 60,000+ in attendance, Live At Reading is an album for Nirvana newbies and nutcases alike. -Nathaniel[Video] Nirvana - Drain You (HD)MySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundPassion Pit - MannersIf "blog house" falls during 2009 and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Ok that was corny, but the answer should be a resounding "yes" as long as Passion Pit is still around to rouse the cause. After the introduction of their breakout single "Sleepyhead" (which they conceded was a song they'll never best by its inclusion on their proper debut), Manners was destined to be one of the most anticipated albums. So what do you do when you created your best song when no one was watching, but now you've got everyone waiting with baited breath for you to turn 2009 into one massive falsetto'd dance party? Manners wasn't the album "Sleepyhead" suggested it might be, but if we didn't know any better it would have been one hell of a debut. The first half is miles better than anything MGMT could come up with, and while the second half lags (which is probably why they stuck "Sleepyhead" in there) the album on a whole is one of the year's most fun and danceable albums... and we always need at least one of those. - Connor [MP3] Passion Pit - Moth's WingsMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundFanfarlo - ReservoirAmidst the rise of lo-tide and electronic expansion, there is one band from 2009 that stuck to conventional instrumentation and solid songwriting to lure listeners into their sound. Although the influences of Beirut and Arcade Fire are evident, not just any band can craft memorable melodies as enjoyable as Fanfarlo. Their debut LP Reservoir first caught my attention back in February, full of songs that buoy up and down in sweeping movements. They're also a band whose pop themes tend to have polarizing effects on an audience, and if you've truly listened to Reservoir you'll have a hard time denying the quality of Fanfarlo's music. -Connor[MP3] Fanfarlo - LunaMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundAtlas Sound - LogosBradford Cox is quickly entering into the same realm as Spencer Krug: men with so much creativity they can't create monikers fast enough to keep up! I've admired his work with Deerhunter for quite some time but Atlas Sound stands out as my favorite. Logos contains excellent collaborations with Noah Lennox and Laetitia Sadier, yet his other stream-of-conciousness tracks like "Shelia" and "An Orchid" stand out as true gems. Logos is one of those albums that festers and makes ears itch, truly getting better with each listen. -Nathaniel[MP3] Atlas Sound - Walkabout (Feat. Noah Lennox)MySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundThe Antlers - HospiceThe American existential psychologist Rollo May once said that creativity is born out of the tension between spontaneity and limitations. For The Antlers' frontman Peter Silberman that tension exists between life (or livelihood, that which procures spontaneity) and death (the ultimate limitation). While that may sound terribly cliché, the real testament to the power and grandeur of Hospice is the finite balance it finds. Although not blatantly a concept album Hospice would have been the greatest in recent memory, variating on those themes of uncertainty and waiting perfectly, from the title to the narratives to the musical style itself. Silberman's delicate vocals float over an ocean of harsh noise throughout the album, particularly on "Kettering" and "Sylvia," boiling over at points of extreme emotion. Nothing seems forced, every element is perfectly and delicately plotted. There are joyous highs and sweltering lows and, of course, a gripping sense of currency in between. To give The Antlers as much credit as one can, I commend them for keeping the album format alive with something as viable, organic, and cohesive as Hospice. - Connor[MP3] The Antlers - KetteringMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundThe Very Best - Warm Heart Of AfricaFor a band that has the audacious foresight to combine Africana with 80s dance synth (see "Chalo"), you'd think they would have been the biggest act of the year. But of course there's a language barrier which proved to be somewhat limiting in their widespread appeal (although, don't get me wrong, they've got plenty of fans). In the absence of M.I.A., they gave us 2009's "Paper Planes" ("Julia") and easily some of the best produced club-oriented music of the year (give Radioclit credit for that). If you're looking for some of the most infectious and memorable dance tracks of the year, "Warm Heart of Africa", "Mfumu," and "Kamphopo" will be your new best friends. If you get a chance to see TVB live, you'll see that all this joyous, frenetic, anthemic music has a wide-eyed, wide-smiled creator who is as passionate about his music (and your enjoyment of it) as anyone could be, and that's something that shines through every single track on Warm Heart Of Africa. - Connor [MP3] The Very Best - KamphopoMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundLe Loup - FamilyNot to slight the efforts of Sam Simkoff and Le Loup, I have to recognize the impact that Animal Collective has had on the production and progression of music over the last few years. That's not to call foul on Le Loup or to suggest they're somehow trying to imitate Avey and Panda's work, rather I think that influence has operated so successfully as a covert force within the indie music realm. Family is a brilliant testament to that, with melodies and textures and harmonies that interact incredibly fluidly, backyard rhythms that are as organic as grass itself, and a general mastery of bringing some honest, palpable consonance to the relative chaos of their musical style. This, of course, is no easy task and the degree to which Le Loup have achieved this on Family is worthy of your attention alone. - Connor[MP3] Le Loup - Beach TownMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundHoliday Shores - Columbus'd The WhimBefore listening to a brand new band for the first time, it's difficult to avoid making general inferences. Aside from either liking or disliking the band name, I typically check out their city/state of origin to gauge what they could sound like. Holiday Shores, from Florida, completely confused me because Florida (until recently) never had a defnitive sound or solid musical reputation. Their debut LP, Columbus'd The Whim, definitely sets a superb standard and thrives off retro 1950s-esque guitar melodies many of the Sunshine State's senior citizens may have once enjoyed. There isn't a bad song on the album but gems like "Bradley Bear", "Phones Don't Feud", and "Edge Of Our Lives" will certainly grab your attention from the get-go. -Nathaniel[MP3] Holiday Shores - Phones Don't FeudMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundBowerbirds - Upper AirEvery year there are a handful of albums that many lists, including this one, simply overlook. For whatever the reasons may be, Bowerbirds second LP Upper Air has consistently been overlooked by some of my favorite year-end lists. It's a tragic thing too, for Upper Air is a beautifully crafted album that really sinks in deeper and deeper as the album progresses. Their harmonies are mesmerizing while the songwriting is earnest and full of sensational landscapes in which a listener can easily become lost. Tracks like "House Of Diamonds", "Northern Lights", and the sprawling "Silver Clouds" are great compositions. Upper Air is not an album for simple sampling or light listening, you've got to fully immerse yourself in the record to discover its magic. -Nathaniel[MP3] Bowerbirds - Silver CloudsMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundBlind Man's Colour - Season DreamingChances are you made up your mind about Blind Man's Colour long ago. You either (rather stubbornly) cast them off as Animal Collective acolytes, or you avoid the heavy hand of hypocrisy involved in that label and judge the band and their debut, Season Dreaming, on its musical merit alone. Taking the latter approach, Season Dreaming is the year's best debut album from start to finish. Every song offered is a different colored gem, its own style and substance blended together in a stew of psychedelia. You'll hear sounds you've never heard in pop music before, you'll feel as if you've discovered something incredible--for your ears, your mind, and your heart--and you'll truly connect with the music (with or without drugs, although they certainly don't hurt the cause). I haven't been as excited about a new band as I am about Blind Man's Colour in a long time, and the idea that something this good came as a debut from two kids who are barely into their college years is endlessly promising, to say the least. I just can't wait to see what comes next. - Connor[MP3] Blind Man's Colour - Heavy Cloud HustleMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundDirty Projectors - Bitte OrcaIt's no secret that Dave Longstreth has been creating fantastic music for quite some time. His mixture of hi-fi and lo-fi production on the Don Henley concept album The Getty Address and re-imagined Black Flag songs on Rise Above primed Dirty Projectors for an explosion. Building off the successes and sounds from Longstreth's implementation of female harmonies on Rise Above, Dirty Projectors entered into new sonic landscapes armed with supreme vocal abilities and creative freedom. Bitte Orca was an explosion so grand and well structured, it possessed my ears for months, rather, the duration of 2009. From the frenetic "Useful Chamber" to the pitch-perfect "Remade Horizon" and soulful "Stillness Is The Move", Bitte Orca does well in delivering a diverse album. It's greatest strength (one Longstreth capitalizes on), however, can be seen on the album's cover: Angel Deradoorian and Amber Coffman. -Nathaniel[MP3] Dirty Projectors - Stillness Is The MoveMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundPhoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus PhoenixI was, admittedly, first introduced to Phoenix through their contribution of 1999's "Too Young" to the Lost In Translation soundtrack. I never would have guessed that a decade later they'd be moonlighting 2009 with one of the best albums and the single best pop song ("1901") of the year. In that light, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is the year's biggest surprise. We knew it would be good but no one would have guessed just how good. I'm not the biggest fan of clean-cut pop, and this is, by every aspect of its design, clean-cut. It's immensely accessible, endlessly enjoyable and replayable, and exactly what a year like 2009 (earmarked by economic depression, confounded politicking, and of course the further loss of the hipster identity) ultimately needed. You've got to commend these boys for creating something so far removed from the times in which it was created, giving its listeners a much-needed respite from everything that sucked about 2009. - Connor[Video] Phoenix - 1901MySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundSt. Vincent - Actor Annie Clark had plenty of time to hone her skills before becoming the "feature presentation" whilst playing with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens' touring band. As valuable as those experiences were in developing her own sound and career, I can't help but wonder how many other fantastic LPs would be sitting on the shelf next to Actor. Only her second album, Actor demonstrates the type of artistic progression that makes me unhealthily excited for whatever musical project she takes on next. She took all the tuneful melodies from her debut and adventurously made them rough around the edges, coupling dosages of darkness with precise pop instrumentation. Every track on Actor shines separate from the rest, yet it's the audible confidence Clark has in her work that cements the album as one of the year's best. -Nathaniel[MP3] St. Vincent - The StrangersMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundAnimal Collective - Merriweather Post PavillionMerriweather Post Pavilion is a legendary outdoor music venue designed by an equally legendary architect, historically hosting acts like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the only bill to feature both The Who and Led Zeppelin. Located on a 40 acre plot called Symphony Woods, it's a slice of nature in Maryland's most populous community representing fond memories and the inspiration for one of the best albums I've ever heard. MPP is the most refined Animal Collective album to date, relying on samplers more than ever before due to Deakin taking time off from the group and bringing his guitar movements with him. What MPP lacks in organic instrumentation, it makes up for with pulsating rhythms and more melodies than I thought humanly possible to cram in 55 minutes. Opening track "In The Flowers" escalates into an electronic explosion after Noah sings, "If I could just leave my body for the night", sending MPP into a Beach Boys influenced existentialist experience. It's the most accessible material they've put together, from likeable leads in "My Girls" and "Summertime Clothes" to the most catchy opening 30 seconds you'll hear all year in "Brothersport". It's not as experimental as Animal Collective albums of the past but is a natural progression toward a baroque pop masterpiece, one - that when taken as a whole - is as close to perfection as collectively possible. -Nathaniel[Video] Animal Collective - My GirlsMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundGrizzly Bear - VeckatimestWell this was the big debate, huh? Animal Collective vs Grizzly Bear... like Ali vs Frasier for pasty white kids with skinny jeans and impeccable hipster chic styles. Here's my take on it, for what it's worth: Both bands created absurdly good albums, both bands are remarkably skilled at what they do, and both have had tremendous success to show for their tireless work. On the downside, they've both got rather obvious influences (Beach Boys, hello?) and at least one track that just didn't compare to the others. What Animal Collective has done for the progression of music can already be seen and will continue to be the biggest driving force of change and style through the new decade, that's for sure. For me, however, you've got a handful of musicians who admit that they don't have musical chops, who hardly played any instruments on MPP. They've messed around in the studio using the infallible "guess and check" method of songwriting, and yes, it paid off tremendously. Grizzly Bear, on the other hand, consists of four uniquely talented lyricists, instrumentalists, composers, and collaborators. They may or may not have set out to create the best album they could possible create, but that's exactly what happened. With little computer / technological intervention, using their hands and lungs as much as their minds and fingers, they crafted a gorgeous, endlessly unique creation, impeccably produced and plotted in nearly every way. Nothing was left up to chance, no "guessing and checking," at least it seems this way. Like a true cinematic auteur, every single element of Veckatimest was intended to exist and serves a purpose, from the faint whisper of "It took tiimme..." in the opening of "Fine For Now" to the transition of "Ready, Able" from a chugging 4/4 train to operatic waltz. So which album is "better"?? That's for you to ultimately decide. But if this should include musicianship, studio time, and the incomparable effects of Ed, Bear, Chris, and Dan's collaboration, there should be only one clear "winner." - Connor[MP3] Grizzly Bear - CheerleaderMySpace | More MP3s | Buy @ InsoundHONORABLE MENTION:The Love Language - S/TTimber Timbre - S/TThe Diamond Center - My Only CompanionParlovr - S/TNeon Indian - Psychic ChasmsAndrew Bird - Noble BeastMajor Lazer - Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers DoVarious Artists - Dark Was The NightFool's Gold - S/TDan Deacon - BromstYACHT - See Mystery LightsGirls - AlbumTeengirl Fantasy - CD-RDeastro - MoondaggerMonogold - We AnimalsSleeping States - In The Gardens Of The NorthFontan - Wintherhwila
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Townsville, Queensland, Australia"Blood"The Middle East on MySpaceThe Middle East on The Hype Machine
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from
5 Acts on December 18, 2009
by Andrew Frisicano
DOWNLOAD: The Middle East - Blood (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Middle East - The Darkest Side (MP3)
Australian band The Middle East first put out their debut release, The Recordings of The Middle East, in early 2008. That EP, now in a reworked and abbreviated package, was finally released in the US on October 27th by Spunk (according to Wikipedia, in the in-between period the band broke up and reformed). Two tracks from the EP are posted above, including the stellar "Blood," a song that has the same kind of haunted, economical sound that Grizzly Bear works so well, with a more pop-focused foundation. The band's songs are varied and stretch to cover a lot of popular indie sounds. Fans of Iron & Wine, Fleet Foxes, Nick Drake and Bon Iver take note.
They'll be opening dates for Grizzly Bear and Cat Power in Australia, with their own dates in the country as well (including its Big Day Out, Woodford Folk and Laneway festivals). Their first US appearance is scheduled for March at SXSW in Austin.
The EP is streaming in full below with the video for "Blood" and all tour dates....
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Everyone seems to talk to about Thanksgiving as if it is their favorite holiday. It makes sense: when it all boils down, no one loves gluttony more than an American. We can justify spending money on food (over presents), knowing that we will partake in shoveling these tasty purchases through our personal pie holes. More mashed potatoes, please!
I’m cool with it. Especially when I know that the feed fest I’m attending is forty-five people deep. Forty-five people means a lot of conversations (”Have you put on weight?” “When are you going to pop one out?” and my personal favorite, “How’s work?”), but it also means a lot of desserts. It’s a trade off (and yes, I still sneak cookies before dinner and, yes, I would do that at a stranger’s Thanksgiving).
For my festivities, I am also lucky enough to only have a forty-five minute drive to the very town that brought you Thanksgiving. Since it’s at my in-laws house every year, I have a lot of leverage in the the car ride soundtrack. “Alice’s Restaurant” will obviously be played at noon, in typical Thanksgiving day fashion, but after that, I plan on listening to the below.
Check out “Go Stuff Yourself – The Thanksgiving Mixtape” “after the jump”
The first half of the mix is aimed at getting you amped up for the chaos and/or awkward conversations that await you; the second half is more subdued selections to pair with your food coma during the ride home.
Happy eating!
Julian Plenti – “Only If You Run”
The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Four Night Rider”
The Mountain Goats – “This Year”
Noah and the Whale – “Blue Skies”
Matt & Kim – “Daylight (Troublemaker Remix feat. De La Soul)”
Julian Casablancas – “11th Dimension”
Miike Snow – “Animal”
The Temper Trap – “Sweet Disposition”
The Big Pink – “Velvet”
Ambulance LTD – “Swim”
Jay Jay Pistolet – “Hooked Up On Us”
Denim on Denim – “Countess Unpronounceable”
Eels – “All The Beautiful Things”
Elliot Smith – “Thirteen”
Radiohead – “True Love Waits”
Bon Iver – “Blood Bank”
Tommy James and the Shondells – “Crimson and Clover”
The Middle East – “Blood”
The National – “Green Gloves”
The xx – “Heart Skipped a Beat”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Hysteric” (Acoustic)<script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.delicious.com/js/playtagger.js"></script>
Oberhofer – “I Could Go”
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<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf" id="audioplayer1" width="290" height="24"><param name="movie" value="http://thetorturegarden.org/player.swf"><param name="FlashVars" value="playerID=1&soundFile=http://thetorturegarden.org/blood.mp3"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="menu" value="false"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></object>The Middle East - BloodThis has become, almost immediately, one of my favourite songs of this year. The way it builds up and descends at the end, it's like wandering around a cold, wintry city, waiting to sit down with someone at the end of it all. Like doing your Christmas shopping, investing yourself in the promised joy of it all, the great times when almost everyone you know agrees to be happy by convention, and it actually works. I can't tell if those are kids shouting at the end, or if I just think they are, because they sound so sure and so content. This song is an instant good mood.The rest of the album is just as gorgeous, if not as immediate. You can find out more on their MySpace, and then go and listen to the Analogue radio show, because that's where I first heard this fine band.
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Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Morning Show host John Richards, is “Blood” by The Middle East from the band’s self-titled 2009 EP on Spunk.
The Middle East – Blood (MP3)
Don’t scratch your scalp too hard from all the thinking. The Middle East does not hail from the land of the Tigris and Euphrates but from the land of rugby and the Great Barrier Reef. Australia, not well known for its bubbly folk scene but more for bombastic rock riffs, angular pop, and introverted experimentalism, has The Middle East to play ambassador to many shores, including their own, with the group’s self-titled EP. The shuffling beauty of “Blood” reckons to curdle the viscous substance in those who will lay ears upon the twinkling melody and raucous-laden bridge and be transported to ideas of fellow countrymen Architecture in Helsinki or Montreal’s greatest indie export, The Arcade Fire. Yet, “Blood” knows when to tone down the over-the-top pop and fill in the gaps with gentle acoustic strokes and childlike innocence. The true talent of The Middle East, as inherent in “Blood,” is the ability to build up a proper crescendo and then letting it fall of its own volition; the pieces scattered wherever they settle. With the indie genre becoming more formulaic and predictable with each passing blogger’s delight, it’s nice to find a band comfortable making music their own way no matter what the influence or genre label attached. Tuck away your best Down Under accent, forget about the trouble brewing in sandy deserts, and be whisked to a musical land all its own courtesy of The Middle East.
The problem with falling for an Australian band: they are always playing Australia. If you were looking for a live fix from The Middle East, you best check out their MySpace page and coordinate with lovely coastal town you need Quantas to whisk you away to. To quell your desires and perhaps save you a few thousand dollars in airfare, we offer the beautiful video for “Blood” in all its animated glory:
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It’s been a year since Jason from The Pop Cop started Music Alliance Pact, a loose group of country specific blogs such as the one you’re reading to showcase to each other’s readership. Each month I choose a song that I think reflect the best of Australian music has to offer to the blogs. They are not necessarily the biggest hits or the most popular songs, but more what I think has the best chance of being listened to in the international blog readership. I hope you’ve enjoyed them because we will continue to do this as long as Jason would want to. I welcome any feedback, let me know if these choices are any good.
My choices for the past 12 months are
November 2008: The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition
December 2008: The Philadelphia Grand Jury – Going To The Casino (Tomorrow Night)
January 2009: The Middle East – Blood
February 2009: The Crooked Fiddle Band – The Rom Rebellion
March 2009: Leader Cheetah – Bloodlines
April 2009: Lisa Mitchell – Coin Laundry (link taken down on label request so here’s a remix by No Device instead)
May 2009: Jonathan Boulet – A Community Service Announcement
June 2009: Dappled Cities – The Price
July 2009: Boat Beam – The Rain Pauly
August 2009: The Frowning Clouds – Time Wastin’ Woman
September 2009: Deep Sea Arcade – Don’t Be Sorry
October 2009:Cloud Control – Gold Canary
And here are this month’s MAP entries:
ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Lipgloss – Land Of Lords
This band from Buenos Aires released their first EP a couple of months ago and Land Of Lords is our favorite song from it. Lipgloss sound like they’ve been listening to British rock all their life and you sure can feel the influence of bands like The Stone Roses at the end of the song, with the psychedelic guitars and all. If you like it, you can download the entire EP directly from this link.
AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Cloud Control – Gold Canary
New music from the Blue Mountains! Only it sounds kinda like it originates from somewhere deep in America. Cloud Control always had an earthy, pastoral quality to their music but it sounds all the more temporally appropriate post-Fleet Foxes. Less jangle and more twang. Gold Canary is pulled from their debut album expected early 2010. It has some rootsy backing vocals and yelping, tambourine/handclap percussion, references to family members in the lyrics and then… a synth solo. This song is rad.
BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Constantina – Sobe Ladeira
There is something special about Constantina that goes beyond their music. The absence of vocals never leaves you with a feeling of emptiness. It’s just the opposite. The instrumental songs are so deep and strong that lyrics would limit them to what we can express with words.
CANADA: I(Heart)Music
The Balconies – Serious Bedtime
It’s almost mind-boggling how good and how talented The Balconies are. They have two incredible lead singers (in brother and sister Jacquie and Steve Neville), both of whom are also astoundingly good songwriters, and they’re backed by one of the steadiest drummers I’ve ever seen. They’ve barely been around for more than a year but they’re generating a whole lot of buzz (their debut has just been released and it’s already charting nationally). Songs like Serious Bedtime make it easy to see why.
CHILE: Super 45
Tonossepia – Happy Habibi Te Vez Mas Feliz
Tonossepia (Diego Vergara) is one of the most advanced musicians in the Chilean electronic scene. Constantly evolving in his way of creating music, this year he released his fourth album, Happy Habibi, an effort full of organic textures, warm harmonies and rhythmical variations. By mixing, almost to perfection, IDM and hip hop, Tonossepia has a lot of robot style and rap style.
CHINA: Wooozy
Silkfloss – Mon Amour
Mylène Chan (Muxitu) and Quan Du formed Silkfloss at the start of this year in Beijing. They are electronica, they are trip-hop, they are everything that brings you softness and fills you with love. Mylène also collaborates with many local electronic producers as a vocalist.
COLOMBIA: Colombia Urbana
Jiggy Drama – Contra La Pared
Direct from San Andres Island, Heartan Lever – better known in the artistic scene as Jiggy D – comes loaded with cool rhymes and party beats. Jiggy mixes Antillean dancehall with old-school hip hop and Contra La Pared proves that when something is good, it doesn’t have to be forced. The combination of typical Colombian sounds (papayera in this case) makes him the perfect choice to represent the nation in MAP. Jiggy is currently working on his new album, Nerdside.
DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Sebastian Lind – Stay
A pop natural and excellent singer, 20-year-old Sebastian Lind excites with an enticing mix of singer-songwriter acoustics and crackling electronica. He has just released his first single Stop These Feet, but here’s Stay – a strong contender when it comes time to select a second.
ENGLAND: The Daily Growl
The Voluntary Butler Scheme – The Eiffel Tower And The BT Tower
This month’s song comes from the English Midlands courtesy of awesome one-man-band Rob Jones aka The Voluntary Butler Scheme. He’s a little scruffy around the edges but he serves up a tasty dish of pure pop. Although probably best experienced live, his debut album At Breakfast, Dinner, Tea (how old-school English is that title?) is full of sprightly tunes, huge hooks and amusing lyrics and is well worth checking out.
ESTONIA: Popop
I’ll Hit Her – Noise In Your Mind
There’s not much info about Estonian electro-poppers I’ll Hit Her and Googling that name will probably get you some quite disturbing results. Listing Aqua, 2 Unlimited and Joy Division as influences on their MySpace page, that’s really as diverse as you can get.
FINLAND: Glue
The Capital Beat – Feel The Reggae
This is not the kind of song you would expect to hear from a Finnish band, but The Capital Beat phenomenally recreate the warm sounds of Jamaica on their first album, A Greater Fire. This eight-piece combo takes Jamaican music to a new latitude and there is only one condition – feel the reggae and do the ska.
FRANCE: ZikNation
Pascal Comelade – Two Maniaco Depressive Beatnicks Squabbling Over A Jane Russell Mozarella’s Stereokini
Pascal Comelade is a really special musician. He mixes common instruments with some toys he found in a flea market. This way of working gives his music a unique tone and makes the listener feel the soul of his work. In some ways, his music reminds us of Yann Tiersen – nice piano, accordion and a lot of percussion. Two Maniaco…, with its happy leading saxophone and ringing xylophone, is a track dedicated to a happy life, which makes it a must-hear before beginning a day at work.
GERMANY: Blogpartei
Rhytm Police – Ghosttrain
Rhytm Police sound like they live in a metropolis as they reduce music to a strong bass line, synth sounds and sometimes quite snatchy vocals. However, they come from the rather rural Augsburg in western Bavaria. The only way to figure this out is by listening to their songs with German lyrics. But the featured song Ghosttrain shows their international attitude.
GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
Coin – Error 687
Coin draw their influences from the Manchester scene of the 80s and American grunge of the 90s. In their third studio album they shift their best qualities into different, equally dazzling guitar-pop shapes, sounding unclenched, enchanting and energetic. Popstitute is a beautifully balanced album filled with tremendously rich highs, unfailingly tuneful music, jagged guitars, drums and bass, which supply the rhythmic pulse and captivating hooks.
ICELAND: I Love Icelandic Music
FM Belfast – Synthia
FM Belfast was formed in late 2005 by Árni Rúnar Hlöðversson (aka Árni Plúseinn) and Lóa Hlín Hjálmtýsdóttir. For the Iceland Airwaves festival in 2006, the band expanded into a live act with up to eight (or even more) members. The core of the band is now a quartet with Árni Vilhjálmsson (of Motherfuckers In The House) and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason (of Múm). Synthia is taken from their debut album, How To Make Friends, released on the band’s own World Champion Records label last year.
INDIA: Indiecision
Teddy Boy Kill – Tonic
New Delhi’s Teddy Boy Kill represent the new Indian electronica soundscape – instantly international, slick and unrestrained by the need to reflect any inherent Indian-ness. This unsigned act from the country’s capital released their debut album, The Exit Plan, as a free download. Tonic is one of the highlights of the record – an immediately catchy dancefloor anthem that’s as temperate as it is energetic. Get ready to do something stupid.
INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
The Super Insurgent Group Of Intemperance Talent – Money Making
The Super Insurgent Group Of Intemperance Talent are the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in Indonesia. Their straight-to-the-point songs, killer hooks and good attitude has already seen them play some big venues and sell out concerts, which is very rare in Indonesia.
IRELAND: Nialler9
Trophy Boyfriend – Black Ship
Despite the silly moniker, Gregor Ruigrok aka Trophy Boyfriend still managed to impress us with his first self-titled EP. He’s still at the embyronic stages having not played live or formally released anything in Ireland yet, but judging by the electro-indie of Black Ship, we certainly hope he gets out there soon.
ITALY: Polaroid
Damien* – Confidants
Play this song and fly back in time, to around the first half of the 90s, when Britpop was full of hope and strength. Well, this is just how Damien* are today. This young and promising band from Pesaro, on the Italian east coast, is able to mix a post-punk background with a more pop attitude. The incredibly catchy Confidants is taken from their second album, out this week on Suiteside.
JAPAN: JPOP Lover
Henrytennis – Valencia Raincoats
Another progressive band in the Tokyo music scene, Henrytennis feature instrumental dynamism influenced by post-rock, IDM, jam and progressive rock. Their members come from such outstanding Japanese bands as 4 Bonjour’s Parties, Hula Hooper, Kuruucrew, Oceanlane and Shugo Tokumaru. Their excellent second album R.U.R. is released on November 11.
MEXICO: Red Bull PanameriKa
Radaid – Shine
Shine is the opening track of L’Intent, the most recent record by Radaid. Hailing from Guadalajara, Jalisco, the eight talented musicians produce a peculiar mix of pop and original rhythms. That is why traces of Indian influences echo in Shine, while the vocals are by Sofía Orozco, who not only wrote the English lyrics but also invented the dialect which has nods to the phrasing of Hindu MCs.
NEW ZEALAND: Counting The Beat
O’Lovely – A Different Day
O’Lovely are from Christchurch in New Zealand’s South Island and they have a glistening, ringing guitar sound on this song that reminds me of some great bands from that city’s past such as Bailterspace and Loves Ugly Children. The band has morphed from the more poppy The O’Lovelys with singer and keyboardist Laura Lee remaining at the centre of the band. She’s joined by Perry Mahoney of Bang Bang Eche, whose guitar gives a darker, noisier feel than the earlier band. A Different Day comes from the five-track Lost Luck EP.
NORWAY: Eardrums
Firefly Effect – Never By Your Side
Oslo quartet Firefly Effect recently released their brilliant debut album, Everything Is Beautiful And You Are The Reason, on Perfect Pop Records/Solerød Records. It is full of charming indie-pop songs with organs, boy/girl harmonies and jangly guitars. They call their style “retro-futuristic sunshine pop” which is a definition of their sound I can agree on. Perfect pop!
PERU: SoTB
Emergency Blanket – Next Passenger
The music of Emergency Blanket is fully charged with life and energy, taking influences from rock classics from the 60s, 70s and 90s to achieve a vintage yet fresh and original sound. Emergency Blanket recently released their debut album, Combi + Nation, which includes songs in Spanish, English and even a combination of both languages. Next Passenger has taken them to the final of The People’s Music Awards and you can vote for the band here.
PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Real Combo Lisbonense – Oh!
Real Combo Lisbonense (Lisbon Real Combo) play music that takes us back to a time when everyone would dress up to dance to the sounds of an orchestra or a small ensemble. RCL is the band you would expect to hear in the casino lounge of an Ian Fleming novel. They remade some Portuguese and international popular classics of 50s and 60s and have become one of the pleasant surprises in the Portuguese indie scene this year. Shall we dance?
ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Vive La Noiz – Bird Song
Vive la Noiz could be seen as the usual alternative/indie band. Two girls and two boys starting a band in the finest DIY ethic. However, their eclectic influences and pure, melodic sound label them as post-everything because you can find anything there, genre-free. Dark Clouds And Silver Linings is regarded as one of this year’s most interesting EPs.
SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Meursault – A Small Stretch Of Land
Edinburgh six-piece Meursault’s otherworldly, experimental folk seems almost tailor-made for the music blogging cognoscenti. But as A Small Stretch Of Land shows, Meursault (pronounced “mer-so”) also know when less is more, stripping the song to just acoustic guitar and vocal with crushingly beautiful effect. It’s no surprise Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison described A Small Stretch Of Land as “one of my favourite songs of last year, or indeed any year”. You can buy Meursault’s album, Pissing On Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues, and other releases here.
SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To…
Inch Chua – Devotion In Reality
Like the wet leaves after a thunderstorm, Devotions In Reality bring a melancholic hope to past hurts, as the first step after grief into a new light. Inch Chua is more well known in Singapore as the little dynamo of a frontwoman with rock stalwarts Allura. Taking time off to record her solo EP, she brings to the forefront another facet of her versatility, especially on this number that is best described as a cross between Lisa Ekdahl and Stars.
SOUTH AFRICA: Musical Mover & Shaker!
Ameen Harron – Techicoloured Oblivion
Ameen Harron is a force to be reckoned with in the South African music scene. He is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, and one of the country’s up-and-coming producers, who has worked with a range of the best local musicians, garnering national and international attention. Technicoloured Oblivion shows not only his skills as a producer but as an artist. He has strong ties to hip hop, which is evident as his combination of hip hop, punk and electro creates his own distinctive sound. The song has an almost soulful feel to it and wouldn’t be out of place on the international charts. Ameen Harron is set to take over. Watch out.
SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK
Julia Hart – Korean Girl’s Winter
Always delightful guitar-pop act Julia Hart decided it had been too many years since the release of their last album in 2007 and consequently released a digital single with a couple of new songs for people to hear last month. One of them, Korean Girl’s Winter, shows Julia Hart at their loveliest and is a perfect indie-pop piece well suited for repeated play hours on end.
SWEDEN: Swedesplease
Leaving Mornington Crescent – Seventeen
From the sound of Seventeen, Leaving Mornington Crescent have ventured into new territory. Unlike the sunny 60s-inspired indie-pop of April Song from their Cloudberry split CD, Seventeen is a rather heavy, shoegaze number with buzzing and churning guitars and a solid backbeat. Still the vocals retain the cheeriness of April Song with a chorus of “I’m seventeen on the inside, the only difference is…”.
TURKEY: Reset!
Kim Ki O – Serbest Kalp Dusmesi
Kim Ki O’s songs are self-written, self-played and self-sung in the name of self-pleasure and self-impulsion. Kim Ki O, which is the Turkish expression for “who is that anyway?”, is a name chosen for its phonetic beauty. The duo like to play with synthesizers and drum machines but do not to use computers in their music, preferring to create all the action live with enthusiasm and tension. The two members of the gang are former high school buddies who had been out of touch for years. Now they are back, clasped together, making great things.
UNITED STATES: I Guess I’m Floating
That Ghost – The Red Bow
That Ghost is the musical moniker of one crazy kid from the coast of California. Ryan Schmale, a youthful 19-year-old, creates lo-fi pop that evokes the warmth of bedroom recordings. He has a new EP on the way titled Get It And Get Out that IGIF will certainly be writing more about in the near future.
VENEZUELA: Deaf Indie Elephants
Ulises Hadjis – Lunes
The warm voice of Ulises Hadjis and his guitar are suddenly interrupted by a theremin, a trumpet from a gypsy story and a dialogue between Star Trek’s Captain Kirk and Zulu. These are some of the big surprises you’ll find in his debut album, Presente, which without doubt was one of the best debuts of 2008. His original indie-pop contains lyrics as melancholic as Bon Iver’s or Elliott Smith’s and a musical diversity that in its best moments resembles Beirut or Neutral Milk Hotel. On a Sunday morning this album will be your best company.
To download all 34 songs in one file click here
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Remember those times when you picked up a music magazine or a weekly music paper and read a playlist of what that publication’s writers were playing in the office that week? Here is my nod to that staple. No great fanfare, just ten of the best song around right now I’ve been playing lots of.
This week: Australia’s The Middle East take flight, Classixx remixes Mayer Hawthorne, a track from a Michael Jackson tribute compilation, a tune from the best band I’ve seen this week (so far), another solid Aeroplane remix, another Fever Ray rework and a Swedish guy called Ramsey.
The Middle East – Blood
Mayer Hawthorne –Green Eyed Love (Classixx remix)
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Toro Y Moi – Human Nature (Michael Jackson cover) – Download CHUM ONAH – An MJ tribute album
Willie Isz – The Grussle (LV remix)
Au Revoir Simone – Another Likely Story (Aeroplane remix)
Pivot – Colorado – Warp Recreated
Local Natives – Airplanes
Eric Ramsey – Cut Set
Fever Ray – When I Grow Up (Bassnectar remix)
Foals – Hummer
Related PostsLex Records MP3 Goodies – Willie Isz, Boom Bip, The Horrors, Heartbreak, DOOMWin a pair of camping tickets to Oxegen 2009!Podcast #23 – Solid Gold / Ariel Pink / Fever Ray & moreLocal Natives @ Academy 2, DublinA Twittertape to beat the Monday bluesMP3: The Middle East – BloodPivot cover Grizzly Bear for Warp 20Neon Indian remixes Au Revoir Simone
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If I did a track of the week feature, The Middle East’s ‘Blood’ might well be it (this or The Sound of Arrows). Brittle, beautiful and tinged with melancholic lyrics offset by a literally joyous chorus, ‘Blood’ is a revelation.
The Middle East are from Queensland, Australia and I’m kicking myself I didn’t catch them when we were in Melbourne during the summer as they were playing while we were there. About three different people told me to go see them but the gig was a bit far out and we already had plans on the night.
Better late than never. Nice to meet your acquaintance.
MP3: The Middle East – Blood
Video and buy links after the you-know-what.
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[Buy the 5-track The Recordings Of The Middle East EP from iTunes | Amazon ]
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If you've found some great songs this summer from IGIF, I'd be willing to wager one of them was the track "Blood" from Australian outfit The Middle East. Everyone seemed to enjoy the billowing sounds they orchestrated, "Blood" serving as the band's sparkling gem that starts from careful plucking only to crescendo into a sonic explosion. The Middle East just released a video for "Blood" containing an intriguing short story with beautiful animation.<object width="510px" height="360px"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><param name="movie" value="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=62757868,t=1,mt=video"/><embed src="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=62757868,t=1,mt=video" width="510" height="360" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"></embed></object>[MP3] The Middle East - Blood<-- The Middle East -->MySpace | More MP3s | Buy The Recordings Of The Middle East [IMPORT]
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Although Australia is the smallest continent, I feel as though it may be one of the largest areas of untapped musical potential. There have been a handful of bands from the enchanted land of Oz that have grabbed ears over the years, but I personally view the Aussie music scene as somewhat of an enigma. All the more reason to book myself a transpacific flight and soak up the sounds (and sun) for myself.Until I do venture down under, however, I've got the music of The Middle East occupying my mind. Aside from being a young band with a name terrible to Google, this six-piece knows how to craft music as rich and deep as any a band I've recently heard. It's the type of sound you should hear from a band with many members - thoughtful, billowing, orchestrated and moving. The band originates from Queensland but have a sound that is lonely, as if it came form the very voids of the seemingly endless Australian outback. Behold a true gem in "Blood" - a track that crescendos slowly from sparse origins into a blossoming sonic atmosphere full of whistling, keys, bells, brass, and beautiful backing vocals.[MP3] The Middle East - BloodThe Middle East released their debut LP aptly titled The Recordings Of The Middle East last year (extremely hard to find the States) and apparently rescinded a split-decision to disband, thus not making their debut also a farewell album. That's great news, considering I'd love to see this group get back into the studio sometime after their short summer tour. "Pig Food" showcases somewhat of an experimental edge, with ethereal vocals as haunting as Thom Yorke's and a crazy guitar breakdown reminiscent of Explosions In The Sky. [MP3] The Middle East - Pig FoodI'm eager to see what this band is capable of and under which rock the next Aussie wonder is hiding.<-- The Middle East -->MySpace | More MP3s | Buy The Recordings Of The Middle East [IMPORT]
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מחצית, אחד אפס לנו, מצב רוחי משתפר משהו, וכעת אני יכול בחמש דקות להלל ולשבח את אחד הפספוסים הגדולים של 2008 כנראה.
The Middle East מגיעים, כמו תמיד כשמדובר בשנה שעברה, מאוסטרליה. שבוע שעבר קראתי איזו המלצה כלשהי עליהם, אשר הכתירה את אלבום הבכורה שלהם (The Recordings of the Middle East) כאלבום השנה ההיא. ופייר, סקרנותי זעזעה את מדפי הספרייה. הורדתי אותו, הנחתי את ראשי על הידיים, חיברתי אוזניות ונפלתי. באמת שנפלתי.
עכשיו, כולכם חייבים להבין שליפול כך בשבי של הרכב אוסטרלי ענוג באמצע תקופת בחינות מייאשת רק נשמע הדבר ההגיוני ביותר לעשות, אך זהו אינו המצב. אני בכלל אמור הרי להתכסות בשכבות של נייר ולהזות את הקיץ הגרמני שלי, אבל איכשהו - שוב - לא. כבר הרבה מאוד זמן אני מבקש מאוהד שיכין במיוחד לרגעים כאלה אייקון כזה של "אלבום כוח", מעין הומאז' להמצאה הנושנה של הבלוג שלנו - אך הוא נמנע מלעשות כן. ובכן, אין לי הרבה ברירות אלא לייאש אתכם ולומר לכם כעת, כי במקום לחלום על הסתיו שיהיה, כדאי שתעשו אחורה פנה לסתיו שהיה. ככה זה כשהמזרח התיכון מתנגן דווקא מאוסטרליה ולא מעיסאוויה או קרית מלאכי.
The Middle East :: Blood
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The Soft PackSi era vagamente parlato di loro l'autunno scorso, quando decisero di abbandonare il loro primo nome ("The Muslims") viste le continue noie. Il NY Times si domanda dove fosse il problema, dato il recente successo di gruppi chiamati Fuck Buttons, Fucked Up o Pissed Jeans.Poi, quasi senza preavviso, a fine anno i Soft Pack si sono ritrovati nelle liste di "band da tenere d'occhio nel 2009" su testate come Observer e Paste. Niente male per dei ragazzi che non possono nemmeno pagarsi un grafico per la copertina del disco.Provengono da San Diego e suonano semplice rock'n'roll. Alcuni li paragonano a certi Strokes, ma direi che lo stile è molto più scarno e grezzo. Anzi, i Soft Pack non provano in nessun modo a "darsi uno stile", e hanno ben presente di essere degli sfigati. Sul fondo alle loro canzoni resta sempre qualcosa di freddo. Anche quando il ritmo pesta e il basso incalza nevrotico, la voce di Matt Lamkin sembra dissociata (un po' alla Modern Lovers), mentre le chitarre si fermano un passo prima di dare l'affondo decisivo. Distratti, incapaci o astuti?Chi se ne frega, si arriva in fondo al disco e c'è questo pezzo, Bright Side, e non importa nient'altro.>>>(mp3): The Soft Pack - Bright Side>>>(mp3): The Muslims - Grinding Halt (The Cure cover)>>>(video): The Soft Pack - Extinction
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Here's the fourth installment of the only music-blog-based global initiative that I know of, Music Pact Alliance, which is best thought of as an indie-fied United Nations: hipsters tweaking their perfectly groomed 'staches and fluffing their v-necked chest hair whilst leading a discussion on the best music the world has to offer.As the first MAP of the new year, this edition aims (indirectly) as a guide for bands to watch for 2009. Whether you're from Brooklyn or the Balkans, you'll want to check out this list. As Nathaniel so eloquently put it last month: "Three cheers for musical globalization! Now, let's diversify our ears:" AMERICA – I Guess I'm Floating[MP3] Blind Man's Colour - Jimmy Dove (MAP Exclusive)Blind Man’s Colour came on our radar in late ‘08 with three excellent Animal Collective covers. With their debut album, Season Dreaming, coming out sometime in early ‘09 and "Jimmy Dove" as their first explosive single, they’ve got a good chance of becoming my favorite find of 2009 less than one month in. They’ve also got a free EP called Rainbow Faces which you can download from the band’s blog here. ARGENTINA – Zonaindie [MP3] Bicicletas - 11 y 12We started the year listening non-stop to this brand new song by Bicicletas, a superb space-rock band that has been shaking the independent scene of Buenos Aires for some years now. "11 y 20" will be included in their forthcoming album Quema, which is released in March by Bingo! Records. AUSTRALIA – Who The Bloody Hell Are They?[MP3] The Middle East - BloodI feel like Arcade Fire comparisons have been overused in music reviews over the past whenever, so I’m going to do my best to not compare The Middle East to Montreal’s finest. It’s tough though, because this Townsville, Queensland collective do fit the criteria, at least initially – a large collection of musicians (at least six, possibly seven) who create dramatic and climactic folk-ish anthems. BRAZIL – Meio Desligado[MP3] Guizado - RinkishaCreated by Guilherme Mendonça, Guizado presents instrumental songs ranging from jazz, alternative rock and experimental electronica, always sounding avant-garde. Their first album, Punx, was acclaimed by critics (including the Brazilian Rolling Stone) as one of the best albums in 2008. As well as Mendonça, who is a well-known trumpeter in São Paulo’s underground music scene, Guizado is formed by Curumin, Ryan Batista and Régias Damasceno, musicians involved with some of the most creative artists of the Brazilian alternative scene. "Rinkisha," a deep and melancholic song, sounds like John Frusciante playing with Tortoise. CANADA – I(Heart)Music[MP3] Parachute Penguin - Your CrimesYes, their name is horrible. And yes, this song borrows rather liberally from The Killers. But despite both of those things, if Parachute Penguin’s forthcoming EP, due out in late February, is anywhere near as good as this (or any of the other tracks on the outstanding EP the band released back in the spring), then it won’t be long until the band is playing arenas around the world. Hopefully they’ll stay away from those feathered jackets, though. CHILE – Super 45[MP3] Como Asesinar A Felipes - En Busca De Un Nuevo SueñoComo Asesinar A Felipes (How To Kill Felipes) is the best way to understand what’s going on in Chilean hip hop music – cross-referenced music styles with deep and shocking lyrics. Former jazz musicians joined MC Koala Contreras and DJ Spacio to create an outstanding jazz-rap combo. Their self-titled album, released last year, has been described as the best Chilean album of the year by even mainstream media. And there is no doubt about it, no other band can take our minds, ears and bodies like Como Asesinar A Felipes have. ENGLAND – The Daily Growl[MP3] Emmy The Great - We Almost Had A BabyAlthough the wait for Emmy The Great’s debut album has been long enough to make it seem like an indie-folk-pop Chinese Democracy, the good news is that First Love is finally coming out on February 2. This track is the first single from the album, released at the end of last year. GERMANY – Blogpartei[MP3] The Notwist - Good LiesThe Notwist is probably better known abroad than in Germany. They come from the Bavarian city of Weilheim, where other famous bands – partly with the same members – have their base, e.g. Console, Lali Puna and 13 & God. The Notwist sound is built on the characteristic voice of Markus Acher and the discreet electronic background constructed by Martin Gretschmann. ICELAND – I Love Icelandic Music[MP3] Singapore Sling - Martian ArtsSingapore Sling is a darkly, neo-psychedelic, avant-garage band formed in Reykjavik in 2000 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Henrik Baldvin Björnsson and lead guitarist Einar Þór Kristjánsson. The band is often compared to The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Velvet Underground and My Bloody Valentine. "Martian Arts" is taken from their fourth album, Perversity, Desperation And Death, released last November on the new Icelandic label Microdot. IRELAND – Nialler9[MP3] Gran Casino - Once ChanceGran Casino is an intriguing upbeat rabble-rousing orchestral racket from a 13-piece Dublin band who have the horn for brass and blustery rock epics. Their debut Sun Music EP sounds like Arcade Fire jamming with Herbie Hancock. ITALY – Polaroid [MP3] Arnoux - Today A Rainy DayCascades, the debut album by Arnoux, blends melancholic synths and glitches with acoustic sounds and warm voices, portraying a delicate and touching liquid landscape. NEW ZEALAND – Counting The Beat [MP3] Princess Chelsea - Monkey Eats BananasEvery May in New Zealand is NZ Music Month. Album sales and radio airplay figures of Kiwi artists soar and there is a celebration of local musical talent. For the past two years NZ music magazine Real Groove has issued a CD in May titled The Sound of Young New Zealand. One of the standout tracks of the 2008 edition was "Monkey Eats Bananas," a song so infectious I’ve driven members of my household mad with repeated plays, eventually awarding it Song of the Year in Counting The Beat. It’s silly but incredibly compelling. Xylophone, electric piano, a nonsense lyric that doesn’t kick in until two-thirds of the way through the song, all atop a great rolling bass line. Princess Chelsea is about to release her debut album and "Monkey Eats Bananas" will be the first single. NORWAY – Eardrums [MP3] I Was A King - Weighing AnchorI Was A King is one of the Norwegian bands I expect will do very well in 2009. Frontman Frode Stromstad has a unique gift of creating addictive melodies with distinctive roots to the 60s. Distorted through the sound of the 90s indie scene, the result is I Was A King. On their self-titled second album, which received a maximum score in Norway’s largest newspaper, the trio is helped by artists such as Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh), Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Smith (Danielson) and Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor). PERU – Side of the Blog [MP3] Turbopotamos - Terrorize You / Disco FlorAfter a few demos had been circulated, the rumour was that a cool new sound had awoken the sleepy local scene. With the appearance of No Love, the second album from Turbopotamos in 2007, the rumour proved to be true. With their refreshing compositions, Turbopotamos have been plotting a path that took them on to the same bill as REM and Travis in Lima last November. PORTUGAL – Posso Ouvir Um Disco? [MP3] The Weatherman - Chloe’s Hair (MAP Exclusive)The Weatherman is Alexandre Monteiro, a resident of Oporto in the north of Portugal. "Chloe’s Hair" is the first single of his second album, Jamboree Park At The Milky Way, due in February, which he recorded with guest musicians. Besides being a musician, Alexandre runs his own independent record label, Poptones, and an arts collective company, Sublime. Thanks to The Weatherman, the MAP sites are the first in the world where "Chloe’s Hair" is downloadable for free. Obrigado. ROMANIA – Babylon Noise [MP3] Les Elephants Bizarres - Have No FearLes Elephants Bizarres is an alternative band formed in 2007 in Bucharest. Not really like those big, apathetic creatures, these dancing, multi-coloured Elephants are a very fresh and vivid appearance in the Romanian music scene. Their concerts often stir up the audience and make them dance with their indie-pop-disco-punk motley sounds. You can download some of their other songs and watch live performances on their website here. SCOTLAND – The Pop Cop [MP3] Evan Crichton - Holiday TimeGlasgow-based Evan Crichton is a rare talent. He's a singer whose songs have a timeless feel, perhaps because they are immaculately paced and seem to exist in a world and space all of their own. After a year-long absence, Evan has just returned to playing live with a full band set-up and the Scottish music scene is a better place for it. "Holiday Time" is taken from his debut record Bright Our Broken Days. SINGAPORE – I'm Waking Up To... [MP3] I Am David Sparkle - Jaded AfghanThe curious name of Singaporean band I Am David Sparkle is a literal translation of a famous Malaysian disco singer in the 80s called M. Daud Kilau. Their music, however, shows only a hint of that nostalgia. In "Jaded Afghan," taken from their second album This Is The New, a carefully woven ambiance is animated by an intriguing blend of beats and bleeps that moves back and forth in time. For me, though, what most subtly drives this track forward in the end is the sound of a gently wandering guitar, lightly treading but hugely moving, with slightly darker rumblings underneath. SOUTH KOREA – Indieful ROK [MP3] The Invisible Fish - FallenOnce the male half of Bluedawn – Korea’s foremost folk/dream-pop duo – The Invisible Fish is now completely on his own. For those who know Bluedawn his music is still familiar, but he’s experimenting more and the songs are more personal. Not wanting to compromise with his new-found post-noise-folk sound, The Invisible Fish releases everything by himself and put out his second solo EP, Loss/Sleepless last month. SPAIN – El Blog De La Nadadora [MP3] Saioa - Is It PossibleFrom our point of view, Saioa has changed the concept of the singer-songwriter. She comes from the Basque land and her debut album, Matrioska Heart, was released in 2008 on the small Spanish label Moonpalace (http://moonpalacerecords.com/). Her songs follow a folk pattern with influences such as Low and Leonard Cohen. SWEDEN – Swedesplease [MP3] The Bridal Shop - The Ideal StateI can’t say enough good things about The Bridal Shop. They perfectly meld the sounds of electronic pop of the 80s with shoegaze of the 90s and indie from the 00s. In other words they’re the complete package. Their Peruvian label (I know that’s kind of a weird locale for a Swedish group) Plastilina Records deserves kudos as well for releasing some of the best indie-pop this side of Cloudberry. This song is from the band’s mini-album, In Fragments, out in February. For those wanting to delve into the international music scene as a collective whole, you can download all 21 songs in one file as well.
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Como todos los meses, llegó el momento de compartir una nueva edición de la cadena internacional de blogs que hemos denominado Music Alliance Pact (MAP). Para los que no saben todavía de qué se trata, les contamos que una vez por mes, cada uno de los blogs que formamos parte de MAP debemos elegir una canción de un artista local para compartir con los demás integrantes de la red, y todas las canciones son integradas en este post colectivo. El proyecto es una iniciativa de Jason, del blog escocés The Pop Cop, y este mes se ha sumado Babylon Noise, de Rumania.
Aquí van los temas de esta edición:
MAP - Enero 2009 (bajar todos los temas juntos)
ALEMANIA: Blogpartei
The Notwist – Good Lies
The Notwist es probablemente más conocida en el extranjero que en Alemania. Proceden de la ciudad bávara de Weilheim, en la que otros grupos famosos en parte con los mismos miembros tiene su base, por ejemplo, Consola, Lali Puna y 13 y Dios. El sonido de The Notwist se basa en la característica voz de Markus Acher y su electrónica discreta construido por Martin Gretschmann (MySpace).
ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Bicicletas - 11 y 20
Empezamos el año escuchando sin parar esta nueva canción de Bicicletas, una gran banda de space-rock que está sacudiendo la escena independiente de Buenos Aires desde hace ya algunos años. 11 y 20 formará parte de su próximo álbum Quema, que será lanzado en marzo por Bingo! Record (MySpace).
AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
The Middle East – Blood
Siento que las comparaciones con Arcade Fire han sido un exceso en algunos reviews, así que voy a hacer mi mejor esfuerzo en librarme de esas comparaciones aunque es difícil, ya que inicialmente cumplen con todos los requisitos, son al menos 6 músicos (posiblemente siete) que crean melodías dramáticas y climáticas, considerados ya himnos populares (MySpace).
BRASIL: Meio Desligado
Guizado – Rinkisha
Creado por Guilherme Mendonça, Guizado presenta canciones instrumentales que van desde el jazz, el rock alternativo y la electrónica experimental, sonando siempre a vanguardia. Su primer álbum, Punx, fue aclamado por los críticos (incluida la edición Brasileña de la Rolling Stone) como uno de los mejores álbumes de 2008. Así como Mendonça, que es un conocido trompetista en São Paulo de la música underground, está formado por Guizado Curumin, Ryan Batista y Regias Damasceno, músicos ligados a algunos de los más creativos artistas de la escena alternativa de Brasil. Rinkisha es una melancólica y muy profunda canción, suena como John Frusciante jugando con la banda Tortoise (MySpace).
CANADÁ: I(Heart)Music
Parachute Penguin – Your Crimes
Sí, su nombre es horrible. Y sí, la canción se inspira libremente en asuntos de matones. Pero a pesar de esas dos cosas, si el próximo EP de Parachute Penguin es tan bueno como esto (o como cualquier otro de los temas que la banda lanzó en primavera), entonces no pasará mucho tiempo para que la banda se se pasee por innumerables escenarios alrededor del mundo. (MySpace).
CHILE: Super 45
Como Asesinar A Felipes – En Busca De Un Nuevo Sueño
Como asesinar a Felipes (How To Kill Felipes) es la mejor manera de entender lo que pasa con el hip hop Chileno referencias cruzadas en su música con estilos y letras profundas e impactantes. Ex músicos de jazz se unió a MC Koala Contreras, DJ Spacio para crear un excelente combo de jazz-rap. Su auto-titulado álbum, lanzado el año pasado, ha sido descrito como el mejor álbum chileno del año, incluso por los principales medios de comunicación. Y no hay duda, ninguna otra banda puede tener ese lugar en nuestras mentes, algo que si logra Como asesinar a Felipes (MySpace).
COREA DEL SUR: Indieful ROK
The Invisible Fish – Fallen
Uno de los hombres de Bluedawn que se enfocaba al folk/pop de ensueño ahora está totalmente por su cuenta con su nuevo proyecto The Invisible Fish. Para los que conozcan a Bluedawn su música sigue vigente en The Invisible Fish, pero hay más experimentación y las canciones son más personales. The Invisible Fish apuesta todo por sí mismo y ha lanzado el mes pasado su segundo EP, Loss/Sleepless (Website).
ESCOCIA: The Pop Cop
Evan Crichton – Holiday Time
Desde Glasgow, el cantante Evan Crichton posee un raro talento. Es un cantante cuyas canciones se sienten por mucho, tal vez porque son marcadas con ritmos inmaculados y parecen existir en su propio mundo y espacio. Después de un largo año de ausencia, Evan acaba de regresar para tocar en vivo con una banda de música escocesa, ahora la escena Escocesa es un lugar mejor para él. Holiday Time ha sido tomada de su álbum debut Bright Our Broken Days (MySpace).
ESPAÑA: El Blog De La Nadadora
Saioa – Is It Possible
Desde nuestro punto de vista, Saioa ha cambiado el concepto de cantautor. Ella viene de la tierra vasca con su álbum debut, Matrioska Heart, que fue lanzado en el 2008 en el pequeño sello español Moonpalace. Sus canciones siguen un patrón popular con influencias tales como Low y Leonard Cohen (MySpace).
ESTADOS UNIDOS: I Guess I’m Floating
Blind Man’s Colour – Jimmy Dove
Blind Man’s Colour se colocó en la mira a finales de 2008 con tres excelentes covers de Animal Collective. Season Dreaming, su álbum debut, está pronto a lanzarse sin aún fecha exacta y Jimmy Dove ha sido elegido como primer gran single. Blind Man’s Colour tienen una buena oportunidad para convertirse en lo favorito de muchos este 2009, la banda tiene un EP llamado Rainbow Faces y puede ser descargado de forma gratuita desde su blog. Jimmy Dove es un mp3 exclusivo para MAP. (MySpace).
INGLATERRA: The Daily Growl
Emmy The Great – We Almost Had A Baby
Aunque la espera por el álbum debut de Emmy The Great ha sido un poco larga para finalmente hacerlo parecer a la versión indie-folk-pop del Chinese Democracy (por su espera), la buena noticia es que finalmente First Love saldra este 2 de febrero. Esta pista es el primer single del álbum, publicado a finales del pasado año (MySpace).
IRLANDA: Nialler9
Gran Casino – One Chance
Una intrigante y optimista agitación orquestal, canciones de rock narrando epopeyas. Sun Music, su debut en EP suena como Arcade Fire más la interferencia de Herbie Hancock (MySpace).
ISLANDIA: I Love Icelandic Music
Singapore Sling – Martian Arts
Singapore Sling es una oscura, neo-psicodélica, pre-garaje banda formada en Reykjavik por el 2000 por el cantautor y guitarrista Henrik Baldvin Björnsson Einar Þór Kristjánsson. La banda es a menudo comparada con Jesús & Mary Chain, The Velvet Underground y My Bloody Valentine. Martian Arts se ha tomado de su cuarto álbum, Perversity, Desesperation And Death, publicado el pasado mes de noviembre por el nuevo sello islandés Microdot (MySpace).
ITALIA: Polaroid
Arnoux – Today, A Rainy Day
Cascades, el álbum debut de Arnoux, es una pieza melancólica que mezcla sintetizadores con sonidos acústicos y una cálida voz, que representan un delicado y conmovedor paisaje líquido (MySpace).
NORUEGA: Eardrums
I Was A King – Weighing Anchor
I Was A King es una de las bandas Noruegas que inundan mis expectativas este 2009. Frode Stromstad su líder tiene un don de crear melodías adictivas con raíces en los años 60. Distorsionadas por el sonido de los años 90 de la escena indie, el resultado es I Was A King. En su auto-titulado segundo disco, que recibió una puntuación máxima en el mayor periódico de Noruega, el trío es ayudado por los artistas como Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh), Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Smith (Danielson) y Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor) (MySpace).
NUEVA ZELANDA: Counting The Beat
Princess Chelsea – Monkey Eats Bananas
Cada mes de mayo en Nueva Zelanda se realiza el NZ Music Month. Venta de discos tocadas radiales las cifras de los artistas se disparan es una celebración del talento musical local. Durante los últimos dos años la revista NZ Music Real Groove ha publicado en mayo un CD titulado “El sonido de los jóvenes de Nueva Zelandia”. Una de las pistas de la edición 2008 fue Monkeys Eats Bananas, una canción tan infecciosa que ha impulsado miembros de mi familia a tocarla repetidas veces, y que finalmente se ha adjudicado como canción del año. Es tonta, pero increíblemente convincente. Un Xilófono, un piano eléctrico y una letra sin sentido. Princess Chelsea está a punto de liberar su álbum debut Monkey Eats Bananas y este será el primer single (MySpace).
PERÚ: SoTB
Turbopotamos – Terrorize You/Disco Flor
Fue facil para que unos cuantos demos rotaran de mano en mano y nazca el rumor sobre aquel sonido refrescante que tanto reclamaba la dormida escena local, tras la salida el 2007 de No Love el segundo album de los Turbopotamos el rumor se hizo cierto, fresco y sobre todo muy sincero en las composiciones y ritmos los Turbopotamos han ido trazando un camino que los ha llevado a telonear a Travis y R.E.M. el pasado 14 de Nov en Lima, el año pasado han lanzado Disco Suite un single que incluye 2 canciones en 1 Terrorize You & Disco Flor y que han puesto en descarga gratuita desde su blog (MySpace).
PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
The Weatherman – Chloe’s Hair
The Weatherman es Alexandre Monteiro, un residente de Oporto en el norte de Portugal. Chloe’s Hair es el primer single de su segundo álbum, Jamboree Park At The Milky Way, que grabó con músicos invitados. Además de ser un músico, Alexandre maneja su propio sello discográfico independiente, Poptones, y una empresa colectiva artística llamada Sublime. Gracias a The Weatherman, los seguidores de MAP son los primeros en recibir una canción de el en forma gratuita (MySpace).
RUMANIA: Babylon Noise
Les Elephants Bizarres – Have No Fear
Les Elephants Bizarres es una banda alternativa formada en el 2007 en Bucarest. En realidad, no son como esas grandes criaturas apáticas, es tos elefantes bailan y tienen colores vivos y le dan una aspecto fresco a la escena Rumana. Sus conciertos suelen agitar al público y hacerlos bailar con su indie-pop-punk-disco multicolor. Puedes descargar algunas de sus otras canciones y verlos en vivo en su sitio web (MySpace).
SINGAPUR: I’m Waking Up To…
I Am David Sparkle – Jaded Afghan
El curioso nombre de la banda de Singapur I Am David Sparkle es una traducción literal de un famoso cantante de música disco de Malasia en los años 80 llamado M. Daud Kilau. Su música, muestra un indicio de nostalgia. Jaded Afghan, tomada de su segundo álbum This Is The New muestra un tejido cuidadoso entre un ambiente animado con una intrigante mezcla de ritmos y bleeps que se mueven hacia adelante y hacia atrás en el tiempo. Para mí, sin embargo, lo más sutil en este tema viene con el sonido de una guitarra flotando suavemente, pero muy ligeramente balanceándose con algo de sonidos oscuros (MySpace).
SUECIA: Swedesplease
The Bridal Shop – The Ideal State
No puedo decir suficientes cosas buenas sobre The Bridal Shop. Ellos combinan perfectamente los sonidos del pop electrónico de los años 80 con el shoegaze de los 90 y el indie de los 00s. En otras palabras, es un paquete completo. Su sello Plastilina Records es Peruano (algo extraño para una banda local Sueca) y merece elogios por haber sacado a la luz a algunas de las mejores bandas indie-pop de este lado de Cloudberry. Esta canción pertenece al mini-álbum, In Fragments, a lanzarse en febrero (MySpace).
Traducción de los textos: SideOfTheBlog
En zonaindie encontraras videos, fotos, la agenda actualizada de recitales y mas informacion sobre la escena musical independiente de Buenos Aires.
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Emmy the Great - chosen by our English MAP blog - The Daily Growl.
A monthly feature where music bloggers across the world share a track from their home country that they think you should hear.
This month we welcome Romania and say goodbye to Denmark. 21 blogs contributed. Thanks again to Jason for organising all this. MAP was picked up in an Argentinean newspaper last week. There is some brilliant stuff here this month even more so than last month so get listening.
AMERICA – I Guess I’m Floating
Blind Man’s Colour – Jimmy Dove
Blind Man’s Colour came on our radar in late ‘08 with three excellent Animal Collective covers. With their debut album, Season Dreaming, coming out sometime in early ‘09 and Jimmy Dove as their first explosive single, they’ve got a good chance of becoming my favorite find of 2009 less than one month in. They’ve also got a free EP called Rainbow Faces which you can download from the band’s blog . Jimmy Dove is a MAP exclusive mp3.
ARGENTINA – Zonaindie
Bicicletas – 11 y 20
We started the year listening non-stop to this brand new song by Bicicletas, a superb space-rock band that has been shaking the independent scene of Buenos Aires for some years now. 11 y 20 will be included in their forthcoming album Quema, which is released in March by Bingo! Records.
AUSTRALIA – Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
The Middle East – Blood
I feel like Arcade Fire comparisons have been overused in music reviews over the past whenever, so I’m going to do my best to not compare The Middle East to Montreal’s finest. It’s tough though, because this Townsville, Queensland collective do fit the criteria, at least initially – a large collection of musicians (at least six, possibly seven) who create dramatic and climactic folk-ish anthems.
BRAZIL – Meio Desligado
Guizado – Rinkisha
Created by Guilherme Mendonça, Guizado presents instrumental songs ranging from jazz, alternative rock and experimental electronica, always sounding avant-garde. Their first album, Punx, was acclaimed by critics (including the Brazilian Rolling Stone) as one of the best albums in 2008. As well as Mendonça, who is a well-known trumpeter in São Paulo’s underground music scene, Guizado is formed by Curumin, Ryan Batista and Régias Damasceno, musicians involved with some of the most creative artists of the Brazilian alternative scene. Rinkisha, a deep and melancholic song, sounds like John Frusciante playing with Tortoise.
CANADA – I(Heart)Music
Parachute Penguin – Your Crimes
Yes, their name is horrible. And yes, this song borrows rather liberally from The Killers. But despite both of those things, if Parachute Penguin’s forthcoming EP, due out in late February, is anywhere near as good as this (or any of the other tracks on the outstanding EP the band released back in the spring), then it won’t be long until the band is playing arenas around the world. Hopefully they’ll stay away from those feathered jackets, though.
CHILE – Super 45
Como Asesinar A Felipes – En Busca De Un Nuevo Sueño
Como Asesinar A Felipes (How To Kill Felipes) is the best way to understand what’s going on in Chilean hip hop music – cross-referenced music styles with deep and shocking lyrics. Former jazz musicians joined MC Koala Contreras and DJ Spacio to create an outstanding jazz-rap combo. Their self-titled album, released last year, has been described as the best Chilean album of the year by even mainstream media. And there is no doubt about it, no other band can take our minds, ears and bodies like Como Asesinar A Felipes have.
ENGLAND – The Daily Growl
Emmy The Great – We Almost Had A Baby
Although the wait for Emmy The Great’s debut album has been long enough to make it seem like an indie-folk-pop Chinese Democracy, the good news is that First Love is finally coming out on February 2. This track is the first single from the album, released at the end of last year.
GERMANY – Blogpartei
The Notwist – Good Lies
The Notwist is probably better known abroad than in Germany. They come from the Bavarian city of Weilheim, where other famous bands – partly with the same members – have their base, e.g. Console, Lali Puna and 13 & God. The Notwist sound is built on the characteristic voice of Markus Acher and the discreet electronic background constructed by Martin Gretschmann.
ICELAND – I Love Icelandic Music
Singapore Sling – Martian Arts
Singapore Sling is a darkly, neo-psychedelic, avant-garage band formed in Reykjavik in 2000 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Henrik Baldvin Björnsson and lead guitarist Einar Þór Kristjánsson. The band is often compared to The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Velvet Underground and My Bloody Valentine. Martian Arts is taken from their fourth album, Perversity, Desperation And Death, released last November on the new Icelandic label Microdot.
IRELAND – Nialler9
Gran Casino – One Chance
An intriguing upbeat rabble-rousing orchestral racket from a 13-piece Dublin band who have the horn for brass and blustery rock epics. Their debut Sun Music EP sounds like Arcade Fire jamming with Herbie Hancock.
ITALY – Polaroid
Arnoux – Today, A Rainy Day
Cascades, the debut album by Arnoux, blends melancholic synths and glitches with acoustic sounds and warm voices, portraying a delicate and touching liquid landscape.
NEW ZEALAND – Counting The Beat
Princess Chelsea – Monkey Eats Bananas
Every May in New Zealand is NZ Music Month. Album sales and radio airplay figures of Kiwi artists soar and there is a celebration of local musical talent. For the past two years NZ music magazine Real Groove has issued a CD in May titled The Sound of Young New Zealand. One of the standout tracks of the 2008 edition was Monkey Eats Bananas, a song so infectious I’ve driven members of my household mad with repeated plays, eventually awarding it Song of the Year in Counting The Beat. It’s silly but incredibly compelling. Xylophone, electric piano, a nonsense lyric that doesn’t kick in until two-thirds of the way through the song, all atop a great rolling bass line. Princess Chelsea is about to release her debut album and Monkey Eats Bananas will be the first single.
NORWAY – Eardrums
I Was A King – Weighing Anchor
I Was A King is one of the Norwegian bands I expect will do very well in 2009. Frontman Frode Stromstad has a unique gift of creating addictive melodies with distinctive roots to the 60s. Distorted through the sound of the 90s indie scene, the result is I Was A King. On their self-titled second album, which received a maximum score in Norway’s largest newspaper, the trio is helped by artists such as Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh), Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Smith (Danielson) and Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor).
PERU – SoTB
Turbopotamos – Terrorize You/Disco Flor
After a few demos had been circulated, the rumour was that a cool new sound had awoken the sleepy local scene. With the appearance of No Love, the second album from Turbopotamos in 2007, the rumour proved to be true. With their refreshing compositions, Turbopotamos have been plotting a path that took them on to the same bill as REM and Travis in Lima last November.
PORTUGAL – Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
The Weatherman – Chloe’s Hair
The Weatherman is Alexandre Monteiro, a resident of Oporto in the north of Portugal. Chloe’s Hair is the first single of his second album, Jamboree Park At The Milky Way, due in February, which he recorded with guest musicians. Besides being a musician, Alexandre runs his own independent record label, Poptones, and an arts collective company, Sublime. Thanks to The Weatherman, the MAP sites are the first in the world where Chloe’s Hair is downloadable for free. Obrigado.
ROMANIA – Babylon Noise
Les Elephants Bizarres – Have No Fear
Les Elephants Bizarres is an alternative band formed in 2007 in Bucharest. Not really like those big, apathetic creatures, these dancing, multi-coloured Elephants are a very fresh and vivid appearance in the Romanian music scene. Their concerts often stir up the audience and make them dance with their indie-pop-disco-punk motley sounds. You can download some of their other songs and watch live performances on their website (http://www.leseb.ro/).
SCOTLAND – The Pop Cop
Evan Crichton – Holiday Time
Glasgow-based Evan Crichton is a rare talent. He’s a singer whose songs have a timeless feel, perhaps because they are immaculately paced and seem to exist in a world and space all of their own. After a year-long absence, Evan has just returned to playing live with a full band set-up and the Scottish music scene is a better place for it. Holiday Time is taken from his debut record Bright Our Broken Days.
SINGAPORE – I’m Waking Up To…
I Am David Sparkle – Jaded Afghan
The curious name of Singaporean band I Am David Sparkle is a literal translation of a famous Malaysian disco singer in the 80s called M. Daud Kilau. Their music, however, shows only a hint of that nostalgia. In Jaded Afghan, taken from their second album This Is The New, a carefully woven ambience is animated by an intriguing blend of beats and bleeps that moves back and forth in time. For me, though, what most subtly drives this track forward in the end is the sound of a gently wandering guitar, lightly treading but hugely moving, with slightly darker rumblings underneath.
SOUTH KOREA – Indieful ROK
The Invisible Fish – Fallen
Once the male half of Bluedawn – Korea’s foremost folk/dream-pop duo – The Invisible Fish is now completely on his own. For those who know Bluedawn his music is still familiar, but he’s experimenting more and the songs are more personal. Not wanting to compromise with his new-found post-noise-folk sound, The Invisible Fish releases everything by himself and put out his second solo EP, Loss/Sleepless last month.
SPAIN – El Blog De La Nadadora
Saioa – Is It Possible
From our point of view, Saioa has changed the concept of the singer-songwriter. She comes from the Basque land and her debut album, Matrioska Heart, was released in 2008 on the small Spanish label Moonpalace (http://moonpalacerecords.com/). Her songs follow a folk pattern with influences such as Low and Leonard Cohen.
SWEDEN – Swedesplease
The Bridal Shop – The Ideal State
I can’t say enough good things about The Bridal Shop. They perfectly meld the sounds of electronic pop of the 80s with shoegaze of the 90s and indie from the 00s. In other words they’re the complete package. Their Peruvian label (I know that’s kind of a weird locale for a Swedish group) Plastilina Records (http://www.plastilinarecords.com/) deserves kudos as well for releasing some of the best indie-pop this side of Cloudberry. This song is from the band’s mini-album, In Fragments, out in February.
To download all 21 songs in one file click here:
http://www.zshare.net/download/54115620dc4b26e4/
If you like this try:
MAP - December 08
Music Alliance Pact - November 08
read more »
MAP just keeps getting better and better. Again there have been new countries added to the mix and for the first time my colleagues at MAP have been given exclusive songs to share with the world. Check out each song individually or download the convenient .zip file at the bottom.
AMERICA – I Guess I’m Floating
Blind Man’s Colour – Jimmy Dove
Blind Man’s Colour came on our radar in late ‘08 with three excellent Animal Collective covers. With their debut album, Season Dreaming, coming out sometime in early ‘09 and Jimmy Dove as their first explosive single, they’ve got a good chance of becoming my favorite find of 2009 less than one month in. They’ve also got a free EP called Rainbow Faces which you can download from the band’s blog (http://blindmanscolour.blogspot.com/2008/10/rainbow-faces.html). Jimmy Dove is a MAP exclusive mp3.
ARGENTINA – Zonaindie
Bicicletas – 11 y 20
We started the year listening non-stop to this brand new song by Bicicletas, a superb space-rock band that has been shaking the independent scene of Buenos Aires for some years now. 11 y 20 will be included in their forthcoming album Quema, which is released in March by Bingo! Records.
AUSTRALIA – Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
The Middle East – Blood
I feel like Arcade Fire comparisons have been overused in music reviews over the past whenever, so I’m going to do my best to not compare The Middle East to Montreal’s finest. It’s tough though, because this Townsville, Queensland collective do fit the criteria, at least initially – a large collection of musicians (at least six, possibly seven) who create dramatic and climactic folk-ish anthems.
BRAZIL – Meio Desligado
Guizado – Rinkisha
Created by Guilherme Mendonça, Guizado presents instrumental songs ranging from jazz, alternative rock and experimental electronica, always sounding avant-garde. Their first album, Punx, was acclaimed by critics (including the Brazilian Rolling Stone) as one of the best albums in 2008. As well as Mendonça, who is a well-known trumpeter in São Paulo’s underground music scene, Guizado is formed by Curumin, Ryan Batista and Régias Damasceno, musicians involved with some of the most creative artists of the Brazilian alternative scene. Rinkisha, a deep and melancholic song, sounds like John Frusciante playing with Tortoise.
CANADA – I(Heart)Music
Parachute Penguin – Your Crimes
Yes, their name is horrible. And yes, this song borrows rather liberally from The Killers. But despite both of those things, if Parachute Penguin’s forthcoming EP, due out in late February, is anywhere near as good as this (or any of the other tracks on the outstanding EP the band released back in the spring), then it won’t be long until the band is playing arenas around the world. Hopefully they’ll stay away from those feathered jackets, though.
CHILE – Super 45
Como Asesinar A Felipes – En Busca De Un Nuevo Sueño
Como Asesinar A Felipes (How To Kill Felipes) is the best way to understand what’s going on in Chilean hip hop music – cross-referenced music styles with deep and shocking lyrics. Former jazz musicians joined MC Koala Contreras and DJ Spacio to create an outstanding jazz-rap combo. Their self-titled album, released last year, has been described as the best Chilean album of the year by even mainstream media. And there is no doubt about it, no other band can take our minds, ears and bodies like Como Asesinar A Felipes have.
ENGLAND – The Daily Growl
Emmy The Great – We Almost Had A Baby
Although the wait for Emmy The Great’s debut album has been long enough to make it seem like an indie-folk-pop Chinese Democracy, the good news is that First Love is finally coming out on February 2. This track is the first single from the album, released at the end of last year.
GERMANY – Blogpartei
The Notwist – Good Lies
The Notwist is probably better known abroad than in Germany. They come from the Bavarian city of Weilheim, where other famous bands – partly with the same members – have their base, e.g. Console, Lali Puna and 13 & God. The Notwist sound is built on the characteristic voice of Markus Acher and the discreet electronic background constructed by Martin Gretschmann.
ICELAND – I Love Icelandic Music
Singapore Sling – Martian Arts
Singapore Sling is a darkly, neo-psychedelic, avant-garage band formed in Reykjavik in 2000 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Henrik Baldvin Björnsson and lead guitarist Einar Þór Kristjánsson. The band is often compared to The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Velvet Underground and My Bloody Valentine. “Martian Arts” is taken from their fourth album, Perversity, Desperation And Death, released last November on the new Icelandic label Microdot.
IRELAND – Nialler9
Gran Casino – One Chance
An intriguing upbeat rabble-rousing orchestral racket from a 13-piece Dublin band who have the horn for brass and blustery rock epics. Their debut Sun Music EP sounds like Arcade Fire jamming with Herbie Hancock.
ITALY – Polaroid
Arnoux – Today, A Rainy Day
Cascades, the debut album by Arnoux, blends melancholic synths and glitches with acoustic sounds and warm voices, portraying a delicate and touching liquid landscape.
NEW ZEALAND – Counting The Beat
Princess Chelsea – Monkey Eats Bananas
Every May in New Zealand is NZ Music Month. Album sales and radio airplay figures of Kiwi artists soar and there is a celebration of local musical talent. For the past two years NZ music magazine Real Groove has issued a CD in May titled The Sound of Young New Zealand. One of the standout tracks of the 2008 edition was “Monkey Eats Bananas”, a song so infectious I’ve driven members of my household mad with repeated plays, eventually awarding it Song of the Year in Counting The Beat. It’s silly but incredibly compelling. Xylophone, electric piano, a nonsense lyric that doesn’t kick in until two-thirds of the way through the song, all atop a great rolling bass line. Princess Chelsea is about to release her debut album and “Monkey Eats Bananas” will be the first single.
NORWAY – Eardrums
I Was A King – Weighing Anchor
I Was A King is one of the Norwegian bands I expect will do very well in 2009. Frontman Frode Stromstad has a unique gift of creating addictive melodies with distinctive roots to the 60s. Distorted through the sound of the 90s indie scene, the result is “I Was A King”. On their self-titled second album, which received a maximum score in Norway’s largest newspaper, the trio is helped by artists such as Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh), Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Smith (Danielson) and Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor).
PERU – SoTB
Turbopotamos – Terrorize You/Disco Flor
After a few demos had been circulated, the rumour was that a cool new sound had awoken the sleepy local scene. With the appearance of No Love, the second album from Turbopotamos in 2007, the rumour proved to be true. With their refreshing compositions, Turbopotamos have been plotting a path that took them on to the same bill as REM and Travis in Lima last November.
PORTUGAL – Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
The Weatherman – Chloe’s Hair
The Weatherman is Alexandre Monteiro, a resident of Oporto in the north of Portugal. Chloe’s Hair is the first single of his second album, Jamboree Park At The Milky Way, due in February, which he recorded with guest musicians. Besides being a musician, Alexandre runs his own independent record label, Poptones, and an arts collective company, Sublime. Thanks to The Weatherman, the MAP sites are the first in the world where “Chloe’s Hair” is downloadable for free. Obrigado.
ROMANIA – Babylon Noise
Les Elephants Bizarres – Have No Fear
Les Elephants Bizarres is an alternative band formed in 2007 in Bucharest. Not really like those big, apathetic creatures, these dancing, multi-coloured Elephants are a very fresh and vivid appearance in the Romanian music scene. Their concerts often stir up the audience and make them dance with their indie-pop-disco-punk motley sounds. You can download some of their other songs and watch live performances on their website (http://www.leseb.ro/).
SCOTLAND – The Pop Cop
Evan Crichton – Holiday Time
Glasgow-based Evan Crichton is a rare talent. He’s a singer whose songs have a timeless feel, perhaps because they are immaculately paced and seem to exist in a world and space all of their own. After a year-long absence, Evan has just returned to playing live with a full band set-up and the Scottish music scene is a better place for it. “Holiday Time” is taken from his debut record Bright Our Broken Days.
SINGAPORE – I’m Waking Up To…
I Am David Sparkle – Jaded Afghan
The curious name of Singaporean band I Am David Sparkle is a literal translation of a famous Malaysian disco singer in the 80s called M. Daud Kilau. Their music, however, shows only a hint of that nostalgia. In Jaded Afghan, taken from their second album This Is The New, a carefully woven ambience is animated by an intriguing blend of beats and bleeps that moves back and forth in time. For me, though, what most subtly drives this track forward in the end is the sound of a gently wandering guitar, lightly treading but hugely moving, with slightly darker rumblings underneath.
SOUTH KOREA – Indieful ROK
The Invisible Fish – Fallen
Once the male half of Bluedawn – Korea’s foremost folk/dream-pop duo – The Invisible Fish is now completely on his own. For those who know Bluedawn his music is still familiar, but he’s experimenting more and the songs are more personal. Not wanting to compromise with his new-found post-noise-folk sound, The Invisible Fish releases everything by himself and put out his second solo EP, Loss/Sleepless last month.
SPAIN – El Blog De La Nadadora
Saioa – Is It Possible
From our point of view, Saioa has changed the concept of the singer-songwriter. She comes from the Basque land and her debut album, Matrioska Heart, was released in 2008 on the small Spanish label Moonpalace (http://moonpalacerecords.com/). Her songs follow a folk pattern with influences such as Low and Leonard Cohen.
SWEDEN – Swedesplease
The Bridal Shop – The Ideal State
I can’t say enough good things about The Bridal Shop. They perfectly meld the sounds of electronic pop of the 80s with shoegaze of the 90s and indie from the 00s. In other words they’re the complete package. Their Peruvian label (I know that’s kind of a weird locale for a Swedish group) Plastilina Records (http://www.plastilinarecords.com/) deserves kudos as well for releasing some of the best indie-pop this side of Cloudberry. This song is from the band’s mini-album, In Fragments, out in February.
To download all 21 songs in one file click here:
read more »
MAP - Music Alliance Pact #4Quarto appuntamento con l'esperimento internazionale del Music Pact Alliance (riassunto delle puntate precedenti: qui, qui e qui) e si aggiungono nuovi Paesi. Vi annoiate? La lista è troppo lunga da leggere? (devo ancora trovare un buon modo per fare i "post espandibili" su Blogspot).Commenti e consigli su come proseguire al meglio questa collaborazione sono sempre graditi. Per scaricare tutte le canzoni in un solo click, ecco il link.AMERICA: I Guess I’m FloatingBlind Man’s Colour – Jimmy DoveBlind Man’s Colour came on our radar in late ‘08 with three excellent Animal Collective covers. With their debut album, Season Dreaming, coming out sometime in early ‘09 and Jimmy DoveRainbow Faces which you can download from the band’s blog. Jimmy Dove is a MAP exclusive mp3.ARGENTINA: ZonaindieBicicletas – 11 y 20We started the year listening non-stop to this brand new song by Bicicletas, a superb space-rock band that has been shaking the independent scene of Buenos Aires for some years now. 11 y 20Quema, which is released in March by Bingo! Records.AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?The Middle East – BloodI feel like Arcade Fire comparisons have been overused in music reviews over the past whenever, so I’m going to do my best to not compare The Middle East to Montreal’s finest. It’s tough though, because this Townsville, Queensland collective do fit the criteria, at least initially – a large collection of musicians (at least six, possibly seven) who create dramatic and climactic folk-ish anthems.BRAZIL: Meio DesligadoGuizado – RinkishaCreated by Guilherme Mendonça, Guizado presents instrumental songs ranging from jazz, alternative rock and experimental electronica, always sounding avant-garde. Their first album, Punx, was acclaimed by critics (including the Brazilian Rolling Stone) as one of the best albums in 2008. As well as Mendonça, who is a well-known trumpeter in São Paulo’s underground music scene, Guizado is formed by Curumin, Ryan Batista and Régias Damasceno, musicians involved with some of the most creative artists of the Brazilian alternative scene. Rinkisha, a deep and melancholic song, sounds like John Frusciante playing with Tortoise.CANADA: I(Heart)MusicParachute Penguin – Your CrimesYes, their name is horrible. And yes, this song borrows rather liberally from The Killers. But despite both of those things, if Parachute Penguin’s forthcoming EP, due out in late February, is anywhere near as good as this (or any of the other tracks on the outstanding EP the band released back in the spring), then it won’t be long until the band is playing arenas around the world. Hopefully they’ll stay away from those feathered jackets, though.CHILE: Super 45Como Asesinar A Felipes – En Busca De Un Nuevo SueñoComo Asesinar A Felipes (How To Kill Felipes) is the best way to understand what’s going on in Chilean hip hop music – cross-referenced music styles with deep and shocking lyrics. Former jazz musicians joined MC Koala Contreras and DJ Spacio to create an outstanding jazz-rap combo. Their self-titled album, released last year, has been described as the best Chilean album of the year by even mainstream media. And there is no doubt about it, no other band can take our minds, ears and bodies like Como Asesinar A Felipes have.ENGLAND: The Daily GrowlEmmy The Great – We Almost Had A BabyAlthough the wait for Emmy The Great’s debut album has been long enough to make it seem like an indie-folk-pop Chinese Democracy, the good news is that First Love is finally coming out on February 2. This track is the first single from the album, released at the end of last year.GERMANY: BlogparteiThe Notwist – Good LiesThe Notwist is probably better known abroad than in Germany. They come from the Bavarian city of Weilheim, where other famous bands – partly with the same members – have their base, e.g. Console, Lali Puna and 13 & God. The Notwist sound is built on the characteristic voice of Markus Acher and the discreet electronic background constructed by Martin Gretschmann.ICELAND: I Love Icelandic MusicSingapore Sling – Martian ArtsSingapore Sling is a darkly, neo-psychedelic, avant-garage band formed in Reykjavik in 2000 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Henrik Baldvin Björnsson and lead guitarist Einar Þór Kristjánsson. The band is often compared to The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Velvet Underground and My Bloody Valentine. Martian Arts is taken from their fourth album, Perversity, Desperation And Death, released last November on the new Icelandic label Microdot.IRELAND: Nialler9Gran Casino – One ChanceAn intriguing upbeat rabble-rousing orchestral racket from a 13-piece Dublin band who have the horn for brass and blustery rock epics. Their debut Sun Music EP sounds like Arcade Fire jamming with Herbie Hancock.ITALY: PolaroidArnoux – Today, A Rainy DayCascades, the debut album by Arnoux, blends melancholic synths and glitches with acoustic sounds and warm voices, portraying a delicate and touching liquid landscape.NEW ZEALAND: Counting The BeatPrincess Chelsea – Monkey Eats BananasEvery May in New Zealand is NZ Music Month. Album sales and radio airplay figures of Kiwi artists soar and there is a celebration of local musical talent. For the past two years NZ music magazine Real Groove has issued a CD in May titled The Sound of Young New Zealand. One of the standout tracks of the 2008 edition was Monkey Eats Bananas, a song so infectious I’ve driven members of my household mad with repeated plays, eventually awarding it Song of the Year in Counting The Beat. It’s silly but incredibly compelling. Xylophone, electric piano, a nonsense lyric that doesn’t kick in until two-thirds of the way through the song, all atop a great rolling bass line. Princess Chelsea is about to release her debut album and Monkey Eats BananasNORWAY: EardrumsI Was A King – Weighing AnchorI Was A King is one of the Norwegian bands I expect will do very well in 2009. Frontman Frode Stromstad has a unique gift of creating addictive melodies with distinctive roots to the 60s. Distorted through the sound of the 90s indie scene, the result is I Was A King. On their self-titled second album, which received a maximum score in Norway’s largest newspaper, the trio is helped by artists such as Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh), Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Smith (Danielson) and Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor).PERU: SoTBTurbopotamos – Terrorize You/Disco FlorAfter a few demos had been circulated, the rumour was that a cool new sound had awoken the sleepy local scene. With the appearance of No Love, the second album from Turbopotamos in 2007, the rumour proved to be true. With their refreshing compositions, Turbopotamos have been plotting a path that took them on to the same bill as REM and Travis in Lima last November.PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?The Weatherman – Chloe’s HairThe Weatherman is Alexandre Monteiro, a resident of Oporto in the north of Portugal. Chloe’s Hair is the first single of his second album, Jamboree Park At The Milky Way, due in February, which he recorded with guest musicians. Besides being a musician, Alexandre runs his own independent record label, Poptones, and an arts collective company, Sublime. Thanks to The Weatherman, the MAP sites are the first in the world where Chloe’s Hair is downloadable for free. Obrigado.ROMANIA: Babylon NoiseLes Elephants Bizarres – Have No FearLes Elephants Bizarres is an alternative band formed in 2007 in Bucharest. Not really like those big, apathetic creatures, these dancing, multi-coloured Elephants are a very fresh and vivid appearance in the Romanian music scene. Their concerts often stir up the audience and make them dance with their indie-pop-disco-punk motley sounds. You can download some of their other songs and watch live performances on their website.SCOTLAND: The Pop CopEvan Crichton – Holiday TimeGlasgow-based Evan Crichton is a rare talent. He’s a singer whose songs have a timeless feel, perhaps because they are immaculately paced and seem to exist in a world and space all of their own. After a year-long absence, Evan has just returned to playing live with a full band set-up and the Scottish music scene is a better place for it. Holiday Time is taken from his debut record Bright Our Broken Days.SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To...I Am David Sparkle – Jaded AfghanThe curious name of Singaporean band I Am David Sparkle is a literal translation of a famous Malaysian disco singer in the 80s called M. Daud Kilau. Their music, however, shows only a hint of that nostalgia. In Jaded Afghan, taken from their second album This Is The New, a carefully woven ambience is animated by an intriguing blend of beats and bleeps that moves back and forth in time. For me, though, what most subtly drives this track forward in the end is the sound of a gently wandering guitar, lightly treading but hugely moving, with slightly darker rumblings underneath.SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROKThe Invisible Fish – FallenOnce the male half of Bluedawn – Korea’s foremost folk/dream-pop duo – The Invisible Fish is now completely on his own. For those who know Bluedawn his music is still familiar, but he’s experimenting more and the songs are more personal. Not wanting to compromise with his new-found post-noise-folk sound, The Invisible Fish releases everything by himself and put out his second solo EP, Loss/Sleepless last month.SPAIN: El Blog De La NadadoraSaioa – Is It PossibleFrom our point of view, Saioa has changed the concept of the singer-songwriter. She comes from the Basque land and her debut album, Matrioska Heart, was released in 2008 on the small Spanish label Moonpalace. Her songs follow a folk pattern with influences such as Low and Leonard Cohen.SWEDEN: SwedespleaseThe Bridal Shop – The Ideal StateI can’t say enough good things about The Bridal Shop. They perfectly meld the sounds of electronic pop of the 80s with shoegaze of the 90s and indie from the 00s. In other words they’re the complete package. Their Peruvian label (I know that’s kind of a weird locale for a Swedish group) Plastilina Records deserves kudos as well for releasing some of the best indie-pop this side of Cloudberry. This song is from the band’s mini-album, In Fragments, out in February.
read more »
Every month on the 15th, we present Music Alliance Pact here on Eardrums. 21 music blogs from 21 countries all over the world present their favourite band from their own country. Eardrums represents Norway. Thanks to The Pop Cop-blog for the initiative. Here are this months MAP-bands:
AMERICA – I Guess I’m Floating Blind Man’s Colour – Jimmy Dove Blind Man’s Colour came on our radar in late ‘08 with three excellent Animal Collective covers. With their debut album, Season Dreaming, coming out sometime in early ‘09 and Jimmy Dove as their first explosive single, they’ve got a good chance of becoming my favorite find of 2009 less than one month in. They’ve also got a free EP called Rainbow Faces which you can download from the band’s blog (http://blindmanscolour.blogspot.com/2008/10/rainbow-faces.html). Jimmy Dove is a MAP exclusive mp3.
ARGENTINA – Zonaindie Bicicletas – 11 y 20 We started the year listening non-stop to this brand new song by Bicicletas, a superb space-rock band that has been shaking the independent scene of Buenos Aires for some years now. 11 y 20 will be included in their forthcoming album Quema, which is released in March by Bingo! Records.
AUSTRALIA – Who The Bloody Hell Are They? The Middle East – Blood I feel like Arcade Fire comparisons have been overused in music reviews over the past whenever, so I’m going to do my best to not compare The Middle East to Montreal’s finest. It’s tough though, because this Townsville, Queensland collective do fit the criteria, at least initially – a large collection of musicians (at least six, possibly seven) who create dramatic and climactic folk-ish anthems.
BRAZIL – Meio Desligado Guizado – Rinkisha Created by Guilherme Mendonça, Guizado presents instrumental songs ranging from jazz, alternative rock and experimental electronica, always sounding avant-garde. Their first album, Punx, was acclaimed by critics (including the Brazilian Rolling Stone) as one of the best albums in 2008. As well as Mendonça, who is a well-known trumpeter in São Paulo’s underground music scene, Guizado is formed by Curumin, Ryan Batista and Régias Damasceno, musicians involved with some of the most creative artists of the Brazilian alternative scene. Rinkisha, a deep and melancholic song, sounds like John Frusciante playing with Tortoise.
CANADA – I(Heart)Music Parachute Penguin – Your Crimes Yes, their name is horrible. And yes, this song borrows rather liberally from The Killers. But despite both of those things, if Parachute Penguin’s forthcoming EP, due out in late February, is anywhere near as good as this (or any of the other tracks on the outstanding EP the band released back in the spring), then it won’t be long until the band is playing arenas around the world. Hopefully they’ll stay away from those feathered jackets, though.
CHILE – Super 45 Como Asesinar A Felipes – En Busca De Un Nuevo Sueño Como Asesinar A Felipes (How To Kill Felipes) is the best way to understand what’s going on in Chilean hip hop music – cross-referenced music styles with deep and shocking lyrics. Former jazz musicians joined MC Koala Contreras and DJ Spacio to create an outstanding jazz-rap combo. Their self-titled album, released last year, has been described as the best Chilean album of the year by even mainstream media. And there is no doubt about it, no other band can take our minds, ears and bodies like Como Asesinar A Felipes have.
ENGLAND – The Daily Growl Emmy The Great – We Almost Had A Baby Although the wait for Emmy The Great’s debut album has been long enough to make it seem like an indie-folk-pop Chinese Democracy, the good news is that First Love is finally coming out on February 2. This track is the first single from the album, released at the end of last year.
GERMANY – Blogpartei The Notwist – Good Lies The Notwist is probably better known abroad than in Germany. They come from the Bavarian city of Weilheim, where other famous bands – partly with the same members – have their base, e.g. Console, Lali Puna and 13 & God. The Notwist sound is built on the characteristic voice of Markus Acher and the discreet electronic background constructed by Martin Gretschmann.
ICELAND – I Love Icelandic Music Singapore Sling – Martian Arts Singapore Sling is a darkly, neo-psychedelic, avant-garage band formed in Reykjavik in 2000 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Henrik Baldvin Björnsson and lead guitarist Einar Þór Kristjánsson. The band is often compared to The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Velvet Underground and My Bloody Valentine. Martian Arts is taken from their fourth album, Perversity, Desperation And Death, released last November on the new Icelandic label Microdot.
IRELAND – Nialler9 Gran Casino – One Chance An intriguing upbeat rabble-rousing orchestral racket from a 13-piece Dublin band who have the horn for brass and blustery rock epics. Their debut Sun Music EP sounds like Arcade Fire jamming with Herbie Hancock.
ITALY – Polaroid Arnoux – Today, A Rainy Day Cascades, the debut album by Arnoux, blends melancholic synths and glitches with acoustic sounds and warm voices, portraying a delicate and touching liquid landscape.
NEW ZEALAND – Counting The Beat Princess Chelsea – Monkey Eats Bananas Every May in New Zealand is NZ Music Month. Album sales and radio airplay figures of Kiwi artists soar and there is a celebration of local musical talent. For the past two years NZ music magazine Real Groove has issued a CD in May titled The Sound of Young New Zealand. One of the standout tracks of the 2008 edition was Monkey Eats Bananas, a song so infectious I’ve driven members of my household mad with repeated plays, eventually awarding it Song of the Year in Counting The Beat. It’s silly but incredibly compelling. Xylophone, electric piano, a nonsense lyric that doesn’t kick in until two-thirds of the way through the song, all atop a great rolling bass line. Princess Chelsea is about to release her debut album and Monkey Eats Bananas will be the first single.
NORWAY – Eardrums I Was A King – Weighing Anchor I Was A King is one of the Norwegian bands I expect will do very well in 2009. Frontman Frode Stromstad has a unique gift of creating addictive melodies with distinctive roots to the 60s. Distorted through the sound of the 90s indie scene, the result is I Was A King. On their self-titled second album, which received a maximum score in Norway’s largest newspaper, the trio is helped by artists such as Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh), Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Smith (Danielson) and Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor).
PERU – SoTB Turbopotamos – Terrorize You/Disco Flor After a few demos had been circulated, the rumour was that a cool new sound had awoken the sleepy local scene. With the appearance of No Love, the second album from Turbopotamos in 2007, the rumour proved to be true. With their refreshing compositions, Turbopotamos have been plotting a path that took them on to the same bill as REM and Travis in Lima last November.
PORTUGAL – Posso Ouvir Um Disco? The Weatherman – Chloe’s Hair The Weatherman is Alexandre Monteiro, a resident of Oporto in the north of Portugal. Chloe’s Hair is the first single of his second album, Jamboree Park At The Milky Way, due in February, which he recorded with guest musicians. Besides being a musician, Alexandre runs his own independent record label, Poptones, and an arts collective company, Sublime. Thanks to The Weatherman, the MAP sites are the first in the world where Chloe’s Hair is downloadable for free. Obrigado.
ROMANIA – Babylon Noise Les Elephants Bizarres – Have No Fear Les Elephants Bizarres is an alternative band formed in 2007 in Bucharest. Not really like those big, apathetic creatures, these dancing, multi-coloured Elephants are a very fresh and vivid appearance in the Romanian music scene. Their concerts often stir up the audience and make them dance with their indie-pop-disco-punk motley sounds. You can download some of their other songs and watch live performances on their website (http://www.leseb.ro/).
SCOTLAND – The Pop Cop Evan Crichton – Holiday Time Glasgow-based Evan Crichton is a rare talent. He’s a singer whose songs have a timeless feel, perhaps because they are immaculately paced and seem to exist in a world and space all of their own. After a year-long absence, Evan has just returned to playing live with a full band set-up and the Scottish music scene is a better place for it. Holiday Time is taken from his debut record Bright Our Broken Days.
SINGAPORE – I’m Waking Up To… I Am David Sparkle – Jaded Afghan The curious name of Singaporean band I Am David Sparkle is a literal translation of a famous Malaysian disco singer in the 80s called M. Daud Kilau. Their music, however, shows only a hint of that nostalgia. In Jaded Afghan, taken from their second album This Is The New, a carefully woven ambience is animated by an intriguing blend of beats and bleeps that moves back and forth in time. For me, though, what most subtly drives this track forward in the end is the sound of a gently wandering guitar, lightly treading but hugely moving, with slightly darker rumblings underneath.
SOUTH KOREA – Indieful ROK The Invisible Fish – Fallen Once the male half of Bluedawn – Korea’s foremost folk/dream-pop duo – The Invisible Fish is now completely on his own. For those who know Bluedawn his music is still familiar, but he’s experimenting more and the songs are more personal. Not wanting to compromise with his new-found post-noise-folk sound, The Invisible Fish releases everything by himself and put out his second solo EP, Loss/Sleepless last month.
SPAIN – El Blog De La Nadadora Saioa – Is It Possible From our point of view, Saioa has changed the concept of the singer-songwriter. She comes from the Basque land and her debut album, Matrioska Heart, was released in 2008 on the small Spanish label Moonpalace (http://moonpalacerecords.com/). Her songs follow a folk pattern with influences such as Low and Leonard Cohen.
SWEDEN – Swedesplease The Bridal Shop – The Ideal State I can’t say enough good things about The Bridal Shop. They perfectly meld the sounds of electronic pop of the 80s with shoegaze of the 90s and indie from the 00s. In other words they’re the complete package. Their Peruvian label (I know that’s kind of a weird locale for a Swedish group) Plastilina Records (http://www.plastilinarecords.com/) deserves kudos as well for releasing some of the best indie-pop this side of Cloudberry. This song is from the band’s mini-album, In Fragments, out in February.
To download all 21 songs in one file click here: http://www.zshare.net/download/54115620dc4b26e4/
That’s it! The Music Alliance Pact will be back here on Eardrums on February 15 with new songs from all over the world!
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The Music Alliance Pact is taking over the planet. We know this because Página 12, one of the biggest newspapers in Argentina, featured our worldwide music sharing project in a full-page article last week. Our Spanish is a little rusty so we put the text through an online translator. What follows is possibly the most extraordinary words you will ever read...To communicate with songs. This is the slogan of Music Alliance Pact (“Agreement of Alliance of the Music”), a network of blogs that came already to twenty-two countries, including the Argentina.The idea materialized in last October, thanks to the Scotch blog The Pop Cop (“The police officer Pop”, thepopcop.blogspot.com). I joust the opposite thing to what the big FM offers, or the channels of music. Forty or fifty melodies repeat themselves tirelessly twenty-four hours, with presenters forced to feign spontaneity and rebelliousnesses designed in an office.Opposite to that the MAP proposes mental trips without fixed destination, and confirms that always to learn to listen was related to the art of tuning in to the different thing. Every group has histories, a language, a city that contains them, a group of friends that does the endurance.Perhaps is it a question of a new wag of the tail of so-called World Music? The Pop Cop, the principal precursor of the exchange, thinks that not: “This is another thing, we are in the stage that it continues. At present, a South American band can dream closer to Radiohead that any of the Englishwomen, and vice versa. There is no necessarily an exotic thing in the contact. Simultaneously, we verify that for the public English-speaker the songs are stopping taking the Englishman as a condition for the popularity”.The initiative has demonstrating it fully. For the MAP talents maraud as that of Dotjr – it is pronounced "dot yey ar"–, a pibe of twenty-one years that clears solitudes with the help of his guitar and from Lewis's Island, in the north end of Scotland.Along the same solitary line Henrik goes along Tvärvägen, band integrated by only one man, Öhberg. The Swedish is inspired inside a piecita and in his profile of Myspace there can be read the annotations of his neighbor, who praises the inventive simultaneously that confesses to have seen it testing nude. And what to say about Fright, Iberian duo that rushes forward at the politicians on having sung that “one more idiot does not fit in Spain”.The catalogue is inexhaustible. With the time it is probable that representatives of the interior catch fire.We couldn't have put it better ourselves. Without further ado, here are this month's offerings... SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop4 Evan Crichton – Holiday TimeGlasgow-based Evan Crichton is a rare talent. He's a singer whose songs have a timeless feel, perhaps because they are immaculately paced and seem to exist in a world and space all of their own. After a year-long absence, Evan has just returned to playing live with a full band set-up and the Scottish music scene is a better place for it. Holiday Time is taken from his debut record Bright Our Broken Days. AMERICA: I Guess I'm Floating4 Blind Man's Colour – Jimmy DoveBlind Man's Colour came on our radar in late '08 with three excellent Animal Collective covers. With their debut album, Season Dreaming, coming out sometime in early '09 and Jimmy Dove as their first explosive single, they've got a good chance of becoming my favourite find of 2009 less than one month in. They've also got a free EP called Rainbow Faces which you can download from the band’s blog. Jimmy Dove is a MAP exclusive mp3. ARGENTINA:Zonaindie4 Bicicletas – 11 y 20 We started the year listening non-stop to this brand new song by Bicicletas, a superb space-rock band that has been shaking the independent scene of Buenos Aires for some years now. 11 y 20 will be included in their forthcoming album Quema, which is released in March by Bingo! Records. AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?4 The Middle East – Blood I feel like Arcade Fire comparisons have been overused in music reviews over the past whenever, so I'm going to do my best to not compare The Middle East to Montreal's finest. It’s tough though, because this Townsville, Queensland collective do fit the criteria, at least initially – a large collection of musicians (at least six, possibly seven) who create dramatic and climactic folk-ish anthems. BRAZIL:Meio Desligado4 Guizado – Rinkisha Created by Guilherme Mendonça, Guizado presents instrumental songs ranging from jazz, alternative rock and experimental electronica, always sounding avant-garde. Their first album, Punx, was acclaimed by critics (including the Brazilian Rolling Stone) as one of the best albums in 2008. As well as Mendonça, who is a well-known trumpeter in São Paulo's underground music scene, Guizado is formed by Curumin, Ryan Batista and Régias Damasceno, musicians involved with some of the most creative artists of the Brazilian alternative scene. Rinkisha, a deep and melancholic song, sounds like John Frusciante playing with Tortoise. CANADA: I(Heart)Music4 Parachute Penguin – Your Crimes Yes, their name is horrible. And yes, this song borrows rather liberally from The Killers. But despite both of those things, if Parachute Penguin's forthcoming EP, due out in late February, is anywhere near as good as this (or any of the other tracks on the outstanding EP the band released back in the spring), then it won’t be long until the band is playing arenas around the world. Hopefully they’ll stay away from those feathered jackets, though. CHILE: Super 454 Como Asesinar A Felipes – En Busca De Un Nuevo Sueño Como Asesinar A Felipes (How To Kill Felipes) is the best way to understand what's going on in Chilean hip hop music – cross-referenced music styles with deep and shocking lyrics. Former jazz musicians joined MC Koala Contreras and DJ Spacio to create an outstanding jazz-rap combo. Their self-titled album, released last year, has been described as the best Chilean album of the year by even mainstream media. And there is no doubt about it, no other band can take our minds, ears and bodies like Como Asesinar A Felipes have. ENGLAND: The Daily Growl4 Emmy The Great – We Almost Had A Baby Although the wait for Emmy The Great's debut album has been long enough to make it seem like an indie-folk-pop Chinese Democracy, the good news is that First Love is finally coming out on February 2. This track is the first single from the album, released at the end of last year.GERMANY: Blogpartei4 The Notwist – Good Lies The Notwist is probably better known abroad than in Germany. They come from the Bavarian city of Weilheim, where other famous bands – partly with the same members – have their base, e.g. Console, Lali Puna and 13 & God. The Notwist sound is built on the characteristic voice of Markus Acher and the discreet electronic background constructed by Martin Gretschmann. ICELAND: I Love Icelandic Music4 Singapore Sling – Martian ArtsSingapore Sling is a darkly, neo-psychedelic, avant-garage band formed in Reykjavik in 2000 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Henrik Baldvin Björnsson and lead guitarist Einar Þór Kristjánsson. The band is often compared to The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Velvet Underground and My Bloody Valentine. Martian Arts is taken from their fourth album, Perversity, Desperation And Death, released last November on the new Icelandic label Microdot.IRELAND: Nialler94 Gran Casino – One Chance An intriguing upbeat rabble-rousing orchestral racket from a 13-piece Dublin band who have the horn for brass and blustery rock epics. Their debut Sun Music EP sounds like Arcade Fire jamming with Herbie Hancock. ITALY: Polaroid4 Arnoux – Today, A Rainy Day Cascades, the debut album by Arnoux, blends melancholic synths and glitches with acoustic sounds and warm voices, portraying a delicate and touching liquid landscape. NEW ZEALAND: Counting The Beat4 Princess Chelsea – Monkey Eats BananasEvery May in New Zealand is NZ Music Month. Album sales and radio airplay figures of Kiwi artists soar and there is a celebration of local musical talent. For the past two years NZ music magazine Real Groove has issued a CD in May titled The Sound of Young New Zealand. One of the standout tracks of the 2008 edition was Monkey Eats Bananas, a song so infectious I've driven members of my household mad with repeated plays, eventually awarding it Song of the Year in Counting The Beat. It's silly but incredibly compelling. Xylophone, electric piano, a nonsense lyric that doesn't kick in until two-thirds of the way through the song, all atop a great rolling bass line. Princess Chelsea is about to release her debut album and Monkey Eats Bananas will be the first single. NORWAY: Eardrums4 I Was A King – Weighing Anchor I Was A King is one of the Norwegian bands I expect will do very well in 2009. Frontman Frode Stromstad has a unique gift of creating addictive melodies with distinctive roots to the 60s. Distorted through the sound of the 90s indie scene, the result is I Was A King. On their self-titled second album, which received a maximum score in Norway's largest newspaper, the trio is helped by artists such as Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh), Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Smith (Danielson) and Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor). PERU: SoTB4 Turbopotamos – Terrorize You/Disco FlorAfter a few demos had been circulated, the rumour was that a cool new sound had awoken the sleepy local scene. With the appearance of No Love, the second album from Turbopotamos in 2007, the rumour proved to be true. With their refreshing compositions, Turbopotamos have been plotting a path that took them on to the same bill as REM and Travis in Lima last November. PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvrir Um Disco?4 The Weatherman – Chloe's HairThe Weatherman is Alexandre Monteiro, a resident of Oporto in the north of Portugal. Chloe's Hair is the first single of his second album, Jamboree Park At The Milky Way, due in February, which he recorded with guest musicians. Besides being a musician, Alexandre runs his own independent record label, Poptones, and an arts collective company, Sublime. Thanks to The Weatherman, the MAP sites are the first in the world where Chloe's Hair is downloadable for free. Obrigado. ROMANIA: Babylon Noise4 Les Elephants Bizarres – Have No FearLes Elephants Bizarres is an alternative band formed in 2007 in Bucharest. Not really like those big, apathetic creatures, these dancing, multi-coloured Elephants are a very fresh and vivid appearance in the Romanian music scene. Their concerts often stir up the audience and make them dance with their indie-pop-disco-punk motley sounds. You can download some of their other songs and watch live performances on their website. SINGAPORE: I'm Waking Up To...4 I Am David Sparkle – Jaded AfghanThe curious name of Singaporean band I Am David Sparkle is a literal translation of a famous Malaysian disco singer in the 80s called M. Daud Kilau. Their music, however, shows only a hint of that nostalgia. In Jaded Afghan, taken from their second album This Is The New, a carefully woven ambience is animated by an intriguing blend of beats and bleeps that moves back and forth in time. For me, though, what most subtly drives this track forward in the end is the sound of a gently wandering guitar, lightly treading but hugely moving, with slightly darker rumblings underneath. SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK4 The Invisible Fish – FallenOnce the male half of Bluedawn – Korea's foremost folk/dream-pop duo – The Invisible Fish is now completely on his own. For those who know Bluedawn his music is still familiar, but he's experimenting more and the songs are more personal. Not wanting to compromise with his new-found post-noise-folk sound, The Invisible Fish releases everything by himself and put out his second solo EP, Loss/Sleepless last month. SPAIN: El Blog De La Nadadora 4 Saioa – Is It Possible From our point of view, Saioa has changed the concept of the singer-songwriter. She comes from the Basque land and her debut album, Matrioska Heart, was released in 2008 on the small Spanish label Moonpalace. Her songs follow a folk pattern with influences such as Low and Leonard Cohen. SWEDEN: Swedesplease4 The Bridal Shop – The Ideal StateI can't say enough good things about The Bridal Shop. They perfectly meld the sounds of electronic pop of the 80s with shoegaze of the 90s and indie from the 00s. In other words they're the complete package. Their Peruvian label (I know that's kind of a weird locale for a Swedish group) Plastilina Records deserves kudos as well for releasing some of the best indie-pop this side of Cloudberry. This song is from the band’s mini-album, In Fragments, out in February.If you prefer to download all 21 songs in one go, click here
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Good news: incepand cu 2009, babylonoise face parte din Music Alliance Pact (M.A.P.) o initiativa mondiala menita sa stranga muzica independenta si noua de pe intreg mapamondul in articole ce vor fi publicate in fiecare luna pe data de 15. Momentan sunt 21 de bloguri reprezentand 21 de tari, dar sper ca in curand MAP va putea deveni cu adevarat un fenomen muzical global cu bloguri din toate cele 192 de tari formand Natiunile Muzicale Unite . Ma preocupa problema globalizarii si cred ca MAP face numai lucruri bune promovand muzica independenta din locuri mai putin accesibile main-stream-ului. Mi-ar placea sa primesc in fiecare luna in cutia postala un pliant care sa promoveze alimente din fiecare tara, cat mai diverse, si nu acelasi produs sintentic replicat de 100 de ori.
Sunt foarte incantat de MAP, mai ales ca vine perfect pe cromatica acestui blog si pe muzica ce a fost adusa pana acum aici.
Thank you, Jason, for starting this wonderful thing and taking care of all!
Soooooo…the music:
AMERICA – I Guess I’m Floating
Blind Man’s Colour – Jimmy Dove
Blind Man’s Colour came on our radar in late ‘08 with three excellent Animal Collective covers. With their debut album, Season Dreaming, coming out sometime in early ‘09 and Jimmy Dove as their first explosive single, they’ve got a good chance of becoming my favorite find of 2009 less than one month in. They’ve also got a free EP called Rainbow Faces which you can download from the band’s blog . Jimmy Dove is a MAP exclusive mp3.
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ARGENTINA – Zonaindie
Bicicletas – 11 y 20
We started the year listening non-stop to this brand new song by Bicicletas, a superb space-rock band that has been shaking the independent scene of Buenos Aires for some years now. 11 y 20 will be included in their forthcoming album Quema, which is released in March by Bingo! Records.
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AUSTRALIA – Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
The Middle East – Blood
I feel like Arcade Fire comparisons have been overused in music reviews over the past whenever, so I’m going to do my best to not compare The Middle East to Montreal’s finest. It’s tough though, because this Townsville, Queensland collective do fit the criteria, at least initially – a large collection of musicians (at least six, possibly seven) who create dramatic and climactic folk-ish anthems.
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BRAZIL – Meio Desligado
Guizado – Rinkisha
Created by Guilherme Mendonça, Guizado presents instrumental songs ranging from jazz, alternative rock and experimental electronica, always sounding avant-garde. Their first album, Punx, was acclaimed by critics (including the Brazilian Rolling Stone) as one of the best albums in 2008. As well as Mendonça, who is a well-known trumpeter in São Paulo’s underground music scene, Guizado is formed by Curumin, Ryan Batista and Régias Damasceno, musicians involved with some of the most creative artists of the Brazilian alternative scene. Rinkisha, a deep and melancholic song, sounds like John Frusciante playing with Tortoise.
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CANADA – I(Heart)Music
Parachute Penguin – Your Crimes
Yes, their name is horrible. And yes, this song borrows rather liberally from The Killers. But despite both of those things, if Parachute Penguin’s forthcoming EP, due out in late February, is anywhere near as good as this (or any of the other tracks on the outstanding EP the band released back in the spring), then it won’t be long until the band is playing arenas around the world. Hopefully they’ll stay away from those feathered jackets, though.
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CHILE – Super 45
Como Asesinar A Felipes – En Busca De Un Nuevo Sueño
Como Asesinar A Felipes (How To Kill Felipes) is the best way to understand what’s going on in Chilean hip hop music – cross-referenced music styles with deep and shocking lyrics. Former jazz musicians joined MC Koala Contreras and DJ Spacio to create an outstanding jazz-rap combo. Their self-titled album, released last year, has been described as the best Chilean album of the year by even mainstream media. And there is no doubt about it, no other band can take our minds, ears and bodies like Como Asesinar A Felipes have.
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ENGLAND – The Daily Growl
Emmy The Great – We Almost Had A Baby
Although the wait for Emmy The Great’s debut album has been long enough to make it seem like an indie-folk-pop Chinese Democracy, the good news is that First Love is finally coming out on February 2. This track is the first single from the album, released at the end of last year.
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GERMANY – Blogpartei
The Notwist – Good Lies
The Notwist is probably better known abroad than in Germany. They come from the Bavarian city of Weilheim, where other famous bands – partly with the same members – have their base, e.g. Console, Lali Puna and 13 & God. The Notwist sound is built on the characteristic voice of Markus Acher and the discreet electronic background constructed by Martin Gretschmann.
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ICELAND – I Love Icelandic Music
Singapore Sling – Martian Arts
Singapore Sling is a darkly, neo-psychedelic, avant-garage band formed in Reykjavik in 2000 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Henrik Baldvin Björnsson and lead guitarist Einar Þór Kristjánsson. The band is often compared to The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Velvet Underground and My Bloody Valentine. Martian Arts is taken from their fourth album, Perversity, Desperation And Death, released last November on the new Icelandic label Microdot.
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IRELAND – Nialler9
Gran Casino – One Chance
An intriguing upbeat rabble-rousing orchestral racket from a 13-piece Dublin band who have the horn for brass and blustery rock epics. Their debut Sun Music EP sounds like Arcade Fire jamming with Herbie Hancock.
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ITALY – Polaroid
Arnoux – Today, A Rainy Day
Cascades, the debut album by Arnoux, blends melancholic synths and glitches with acoustic sounds and warm voices, portraying a delicate and touching liquid landscape.
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NEW ZEALAND – Counting The Beat
Princess Chelsea – Monkey Eats Bananas
Every May in New Zealand is NZ Music Month. Album sales and radio airplay figures of Kiwi artists soar and there is a celebration of local musical talent. For the past two years NZ music magazine Real Groove has issued a CD in May titled The Sound of Young New Zealand. One of the standout tracks of the 2008 edition was Monkey Eats Bananas, a song so infectious I’ve driven members of my household mad with repeated plays, eventually awarding it Song of the Year in Counting The Beat. It’s silly but incredibly compelling. Xylophone, electric piano, a nonsense lyric that doesn’t kick in until two-thirds of the way through the song, all atop a great rolling bass line. Princess Chelsea is about to release her debut album and Monkey Eats Bananas will be the first single.
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NORWAY – Eardrums
I Was A King – Weighing Anchor
I Was A King is one of the Norwegian bands I expect will do very well in 2009. Frontman Frode Stromstad has a unique gift of creating addictive melodies with distinctive roots to the 60s. Distorted through the sound of the 90s indie scene, the result is I Was A King. On their self-titled second album, which received a maximum score in Norway’s largest newspaper, the trio is helped by artists such as Emil Nikolaisen (Serena Maneesh), Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Smith (Danielson) and Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor).
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PERU – SoTB
Turbopotamos – Terrorize You/Disco Flor
After a few demos had been circulated, the rumour was that a cool new sound had awoken the sleepy local scene. With the appearance of No Love, the second album from Turbopotamos in 2007, the rumour proved to be true. With their refreshing compositions, Turbopotamos have been plotting a path that took them on to the same bill as REM and Travis in Lima last November.
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PORTUGAL – Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
The Weatherman – Chloe’s Hair
The Weatherman is Alexandre Monteiro, a resident of Oporto in the north of Portugal. Chloe’s Hair is the first single of his second album, Jamboree Park At The Milky Way, due in February, which he recorded with guest musicians. Besides being a musician, Alexandre runs his own independent record label, Poptones, and an arts collective company, Sublime. Thanks to The Weatherman, the MAP sites are the first in the world where Chloe’s Hair is downloadable for free. Obrigado.
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ROMANIA – Babylon Noise
Les Elephants Bizarres – Have No Fear
Les Elephants Bizarres is an alternative band formed in 2007 in Bucharest. Not really like those big, apathetic creatures, these dancing, multi-coloured Elephants are a very fresh and vivid appearance in the Romanian music scene. Their concerts often stir up the audience and make them dance with their indie-pop-disco-punk motley sounds. You can download some of their other songs and watch live performances on their website (http://www.leseb.ro/).
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SCOTLAND – The Pop Cop
Evan Crichton – Holiday Time
Glasgow-based Evan Crichton is a rare talent. He’s a singer whose songs have a timeless feel, perhaps because they are immaculately paced and seem to exist in a world and space all of their own. After a year-long absence, Evan has just returned to playing live with a full band set-up and the Scottish music scene is a better place for it. Holiday Time is taken from his debut record Bright Our Broken Days.
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SINGAPORE – I’m Waking Up To…
I Am David Sparkle – Jaded Afghan
The curious name of Singaporean band I Am David Sparkle is a literal translation of a famous Malaysian disco singer in the 80s called M. Daud Kilau. Their music, however, shows only a hint of that nostalgia. In Jaded Afghan, taken from their second album This Is The New, a carefully woven ambience is animated by an intriguing blend of beats and bleeps that moves back and forth in time. For me, though, what most subtly drives this track forward in the end is the sound of a gently wandering guitar, lightly treading but hugely moving, with slightly darker rumblings underneath.
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SOUTH KOREA – Indieful ROK
The Invisible Fish – Fallen
Once the male half of Bluedawn – Korea’s foremost folk/dream-pop duo – The Invisible Fish is now completely on his own. For those who know Bluedawn his music is still familiar, but he’s experimenting more and the songs are more personal. Not wanting to compromise with his new-found post-noise-folk sound, The Invisible Fish releases everything by himself and put out his second solo EP, Loss/Sleepless last month.
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SPAIN – El Blog De La Nadadora
Saioa – Is It Possible
From our point of view, Saioa has changed the concept of the singer-songwriter. She comes from the Basque land and her debut album, Matrioska Heart, was released in 2008 on the small Spanish label Moonpalace. Her songs follow a folk pattern with influences such as Low and Leonard Cohen.
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SWEDEN – Swedesplease
The Bridal Shop – The Ideal State
I can’t say enough good things about The Bridal Shop. They perfectly meld the sounds of electronic pop of the 80s with shoegaze of the 90s and indie from the 00s. In other words they’re the complete package. Their Peruvian label (I know that’s kind of a weird locale for a Swedish group) Plastilina Records (http://www.plastilinarecords.com/) deserves kudos as well for releasing some of the best indie-pop this side of Cloudberry. This song is from the band’s mini-album, In Fragments, out in February.
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To download all 21 songs in one file click here.
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20. Cloud Cult - The Ghost Inside Your House(from Feel Good Ghosts)19. Conor Oberst - Lenders In The Temple(from Conor Oberst)18. No Age - Eraser(from Nouns)17. Okkervil River - Lost Coastlines(from The Stand-Ins)16. Anathallo - Italo(from Canopy Glow)15. Okay - My(from Huggable Dust)14. Right Away, Great Captain! - I Was A Cage(from The Eventually Home)13. The Tallest Man On Earth - The Gardner(from Shallow Graves)12. The Middle East - Blood(from The Recordings Of The Middle East)11. Horse Feathers - This Is What(from House With No Home)Tags: Mixtapes, Best Of 2008, Top Albums, Captain Obvious Mixtape
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Photo: Kimicon.
Today I awoke before my desire.
At the foot of the bed it lay in its sore spot, twitching in nightmare or dream.
I passed my hand over it, like an abscess.
No birds were aware of me.
They came and went, nothing resembled anything else.
The house across the water was still, as if it would always be frozen.
- Matthew Zapruder.
Little Joy - Don’t watch me Dancing
Little Joy (Rough Trade / 2008)
House of Love - Beatles and the Stones
House of Love (1990)
Faces - Ooh la La
Ooh la La (1973)
Orouni - Panic at the Beehive
Jump Out the Window (Monster k7 / 2008)
The Middle East - Blood
The recordings of the middle east (self released / 2008)
Ane Brun - The Treehouse Song
Changing of the seasons (Heaven Hotel / 2008)
Note: Something smooth and easy for home listening. Staring at the ceiling, waiting for your hair to dry.
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You Should KnowInfo on this band is scant. I've ascertained the following information: (a) The Middle East is from Australia. (b) The Middle East broke up at some point. Now their frustratingly uninformative Myspace page says (not finished) after their name. For the love of Buddha, let this mean the band has decided to stay together after all. If this isn't the case then I'm willing to trade a finger and a 6-pack of grape sodas for their resurrection. There are talentless overpaid hacks plastered all over the television and spewing worthless dreck through radio airwaves, and then there are unknown bands like The Middle East huddled into dingy basement practice spaces creating gorgeous music filled with complexity and heart. It's sad how most of the worthwhile art is created in anonymity. The band's album The Recordings Of The Middle East combines lush folk-rock with ambient flourishes. The absolutely stunning "Blood" establishes itself with sparse guitar and keys, verses sung with a disarming fragility, and ethereal background vocals. When the song crescendos into its full band gorgeousness, you realize you're listening to something special. If you like what you hear, spread the word. This band is too damn good to be overlooked. -- Capt. ObviousListen:MP3:The Middle East - BloodMP3:The Middle East - The Darkest SideTags: The Middle East, The Recordings Of The Middle East, Review
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The beauty of music in today's age is just how easily it spreads. Once upon a time it took money and major support to get your music heard. Such forces still exists, but the internet has changed the game. Music can spread purely on its own merits, independent of the band's efforts. If a song is good enough, the listeners will do the promoting. Take, for example, the song 'Blood' by The Middle East. By all logical explanations, I shouldn't know it exists. The band is based in Townsville, over 1000km away. I had neither heard or heard of them before today. The friend who recommended them, discovered them on an indonesian blog. An INDONESIAN blog! How that blogger came across them is anybody's guess. For all I know, there could be dozens more links in the chain that has carried the music from the band and on to me. But again, thanks to the internet, I probably won't be the last in this chain. Spread, music, spread! It just goes to show that promotional efforts pale in comparison to the importance of composition. Write a good song and it will do the rest.BloodThis song has an immense power to it. It starts soft, with smooth, honest vocals, accompanied by a subtle array of colourful instrumentation. This builds gradually, finally culminating in a rich vocal chorus, swelling with emotion. It's the sound of a truly great band, entering their element. Who are The Middle East? If only I knew.
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