Rolling Indie Thread 2008

LOL

dude i was so gonna start this thread!!

in all seriousness though.

In all seriousness, though, it serves a useful purpose.

You mean so all the moaners can avoid any threads about indie?

I'm betting not enough exciting things happen in indie this year to warrant starting individual threads.

So there doesn't have to be a separate thread for every indie album that comes out and general discourse can be had and found in one designated place? xp

nah because a lot of the threads for fringe indie bands— phosphorescent, vampire weekend, be your own pet, tough alliance threads off the top of my head— are all like 7 posts long usually by the same 4-5 people. so it amkes sense just to gather everyone here.

right right xp xp

obv lcd and spoon and m.i.a.-type bands can move off to the board, but this makes sense.

No one's stopping anyone from starting individual threads. If something needs an individual thread, it can have an individual thread. Some things, however, aren't needing of individual threads. xps

I could've used this thread last year, given that I was kind of excited about a few indie things early in the year (new young pony club, manhattan love suicides, los campesinos), but never really spent enough time thinking about them (and thus, spending enough time listening to them, except los campesinos). also, i need song recommendations from all pop-related genres... so yay.

Yeah im not arguing, i just love the fact those sort of threads annoy so many closeminded ilxors
x-posts

2008 indie albums I like so far (indie as a genre, not an economic construct, so Mechanical Bull and Drive By Truckers and some other stuff doesn't count):

(Various) – Disco Not Disco (Strut reissue)
Horror Pops – Kiss Kiss Kill Kill (Hellcat)
Mahjongg – Kontpab (K)

I don't think those ilxors are closeminded as much as it's the fact indie has totally blown for the most part for at least 3 years and running.

xp Also:

Atomic Bitch – Promnite (T&B)

i'm excited about this thread. i don't really read stereogum anymore but they are otm with this band:

http://stereogum.com/archives/band-to-watch/band-to-watch-high-places_007543.html

they are called High Places and they do the droopy-eyelid druggy psych-pop thing like panda bear EXCEPT THIS IS GOOD. really nice steel drum polyrhythms and the girl singer's got a pretty good voice. if panda bear was groggy on the shore with the sun in its eyes, then high places revel on the ocean floor where the sun sometimes peeks through the darkness.

a lot of these songs sound like if beach house did ecstasy.

I don't think those ilxors are closeminded as much as it's the fact indie has totally blown for the most part for at least 3 years and running.

http://stereogum.com/archives/stereogums-2008-album-forecast_007552.html#more

^good 2008 indie albums list to bookmark

I'm really excited about the Girl Talk album. And the Magnetic Fields. Mmmm. New Cat Power AND new Drive-By Truckers. It's gonna be a good January.

I don't think those ilxors are closeminded as much as it's the fact indie has totally blown for the most part for at least 3 years and running.

Oh, h-e-double-hockey-sticks. I think that's completely wrong, but whatevs. Maybe when it's over, we'll all agree that 2008 was a great year for indie rock. In the meantime, I'm glad this thread was opened, I look forward to reading it, and Happy New Year to you all.

(Don't know where I got that "h-e-double-hockey-sticks" thing, but I like it).

wtf is that girl talk album? for an album supposedly coming out in 8 days, ive seen nothing on pitchfork/blogs about it and there is nothing on wikipedia, his myspace or his label's site.

I have no idea, Jordan! But I believe what I read; always and implicitly!

nah i mean as far as indie albums go i'd imagine stereogum is pretty reputable, so i'm just wondering. night ripper was my fav album of 2006 so i'm really excited about this if it's true.

as far as indie albums go i'd imagine stereogum is pretty reputable

If you set aside the fact that Stereogum is one of the main reasons that shitty indie has stolen the spotlight and choked the life out of any good music that's gotten made.

what i meant about that is on a purely informational basis i.e. announcing an album before a mass press release, or, in this case, posting a list of albums announced in press releases which they undoubtedly get from probably every indie band on the face of the earth.

i don't know where their tastes lies these days but if it's with, say, lcd/battles/jens lekman/spoon i'm okay with that.

I only like Battles out of those mentioned. I must be not indie anymore.

DJ Martian's 2008 expected list goes up on RYM tomorrow, which is 1000x more exciting than anything Stereogum can probably dig up (if you exclude the black metal and freak jazz stuff he emphasizes).

Just watched Once. Surely that falls under the Rolling Indie Thread 2008 coverage. So, what'd ya'all think about it?

I just saw it this past weekend. Decently sweet. And I never realized until I saw him in a cinematic situation again that Glen Hansard of The Frames was actually in The Commitments eons ago.

I don't think those ilxors are closeminded as much as it's the fact indie has totally blown for the most part for at least 3 years and running.

Nope, I'm pretty closeminded all right. BUT I AM TRYING in 2008. Plus I've already heard one pretty good album; Weinland's La Lamentor, comin' hard with teh emo-tinged blues-folk stylingz.

allegedly the pas/cal album will be out in february. but it probably won't be.

Wasn't the pas/cal album supposed to come out last February...and the February before that one? I predict right now that, if it ever comes out, it will be the worst, most labored hunk of poo in history.

there was a semi-review on the burnlab, he says it is one of the albums of the decade.

Pas/Cal LP exclusive + Richard Panic Interview
I was fortunate enough to preview Pas/Cal's debut LP and interview keyboardist Richard Panic several weeks ago. The album will be titled I Was Raised on Matthew, Mark, Luke and Laura (not Citizen's Army Unifrom as previously reported,) and will be out early next year.

This is the most anticipated LP from a Detroit-based band in a good long time. It took long enough to complete: about three years. Some of us were wondering if it would ever get done and if the band would still be intact when it was finished. Not only did the wait prove to be worthwhile, but all fears have been put to rest.

I Was Raised on Matthew, Mark, Luke and Laura is an elaborate and extraordinary piece of work. For those expecting simply an extension of Pas/Cal's EP trilogy, this is not. It is a self-contained album, and somewhat of a departure from the Pas/Cal we're familar with. There are reworks of familiar songs, such as personal faves Little Red Radio and O Honey We're Ridiculous [which was never formally released until now, but a crowd pleaser at live shows,] along with unexpected conceptual works such as the "Cherry Suite." There are moments it gets too proggy for my taste - the overpowering production on The Glorious Ballad of the Ignored detracts from the crisp songwriting for example. Obsessive production, clever songwriting and charisma are Pas/Cal's main strengths, and they strike just the right balance the majority of the time. One of the finest exaples is Citizen's Army Uniform. The LP goes well beyond a synopsis of the band thus far: presenting a new, unexpectedly eclectic and solidly unified vision. If this doesn't make the decade's top 10 lists, the critics simply aren't paying enough attention. In the spirit of Pulp and The Smiths, it's a near perfect pop album: earworm infectious on first listen and still fascinating on the 100th listen.

I liked the original imaginary title better.

Alright, quite nice to see this is actually taking off.

As of January 2, The Chiara L's are my rookie of the year/artist I'd most like to hear more from.

obv lcd and spoon and m.i.a.-type bands can move off to the board, but this makes sense.

-- J0rdan S., Tuesday, 1 January 2008 02:35 (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

:)

On this note, I'm on tour (playing drums/road managing) with Two Ton Boa (Kill Rock Stars) right now. Give a shout if you might make it to one of these shows:

Fri 12/28 - Portland, OR @ Dantes w/SubArachnoid Space, Prize Country
Sat 12/29 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux w/Tim Andrea

Mon 12/31 - Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive w/Dev-OH (Devo tribute!)

Thu 01/03 - Iowa City, IA @ Picador

Sat 01/05 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theater w/Dresden Dolls
Sun 01/06 - St Louis, MO @ The Pageant w/Dresden Dolls

Tue 01/08 - Birmingham, AL @ Workplay Theater w/Dresden Dolls

Thu 01/10 - Tampa, FL @ Tampa Theater w/Dresden Dolls
Fri 01/11 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Theater w/Dresden Dolls
Sat 01/12 - Raleigh, NC @ Carolina Theater w/Dresden Dolls
Sun 01/13 - Norfolk, VA @ Norva Theater w/Dresden Dolls

damn that stereogum list is getting me excitied about this year

new xiu xiu, mt.zion, magnetic fields, m83, spiritualized...all lookin good

Just played the new Mae Shi album, 'HLLLYH' (title not explained). I would't have put them in a rolling indie thread before, they were more from the abrasive math-rock side of things, but this is pretty cool and more tuneful. Lots of keyboards, time changes blahdiblah. It'd be nice if people gave a shit about them this year but not holding m'breath

ppl are all over no age/health etc. so it's possible...

HLLLYH

I like that this could be pronounced "hell yeah" or "hallelujah"

is this like a new thing or has there always been a rolling indie thread?

Anyone heard the new Okay album, Huggable Dust, yet? Once you get past his Nyquil voice, the music is really quite nice.

I kind of remember that double album from a couple years ago, and maybe it was good too, but this is great.

Reverend, you must be very pleased with yourself. Now come on, where'd you put the keys?

The new King Khan and BBQ Show album is the shit

Reverend, you must be very pleased with yourself. Now come on, where'd you put the keys?

-- the higgs, Thursday, January 3, 2008 12:11 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Link

Moi? : D

Actually, I started this thread in at least 80% seriousness.

New Mae Shi! This thread is exciting already.

If you set aside the fact that Stereogum is one of the main reasons that shitty indie has stolen the spotlight and choked the life out of any good music that's gotten made.

People read Stereogum enough for it to count as "the spotlight"?

stereogum dude is worth 1.5 mill or something like that

Seriously did not know that! I don't know anyone offline who reads any online music sites, not even Pitchfork as far as I know, and I hardly ever see Stereogum mentioned by the younger indie types I talk to online. But I'm pretty out of touch, yeah, and it's not the first time I've been told something I assumed was no great seller anywhere is actually approaching household name level US-side (also wouldn't be the first time a website gets evaluated way beyond its actual influence, of course).

I want to like Mahjongg because they seem to have a box ticked for every section of my record collection, but so far there's been more box-ticking than "whoa" for me. Still hoping that will change with further listens.

Los Campesinos in '08. fun fun fun

The new King Khan and BBQ Show album is the shit

keep your eyes peeled for the new helvetia album "the acrobats"

has anyone heard new meneguar?

the new LOW LOWS album is pretty fucking amazing. man.

http://www.saidthegramophone.com/archives/it_always_starts_a_ghost_.php

never heard of them. new band?

vampire weekend getting huge mtv/mtv2 push this week. just saw an mtv2 house ad about hearing songs from the new vampire weekend album as if ppl know who they are. interested to see how far they will crossover.

i really like them though

I was prepared to hate them (Vampire Weekend) but I really can't deny the tunes. My fiance loves the shit out of them.

HAHA JUST SAW AN EMUSIC INFOMERCIAL!!!

anyway, i'm not surprised that vamp weekend are getting that type of crossover push. for mainstream-indie leaning ppl ("i've heard the new lcd soundsystem, m.i.a., wilco and shins albums this year" [nothing wrong with these ppl of course but they exist]) vamp weekend are new and good and MOR but still are weird enough to seem mysterious and cool etc.

Having just listened to the Vampire Weekend full-length for the first time, I'm surprised that I never made the Strokes connection before.

In the snarl of the dude's voice, in the simple pop structures, in the commotion over derivativeness, etc.

quick scratchy guitars

i'm not sure how i'll much i'll like the full-length over the year, but they sing about a lot about locale displacement ("out of cape cod tonight", etc.) and that hit me really hard this past semester when i was kind of not cool with being at school.

locale displacement esp. in the collegiate setting which i'm sure why identify with it and other ppl may see them as whiny.

imagine if these guys existed as zach braff was putting garden state soundtrack together...

i think my brain just imploded

vampire weekend - they sound like a k records band.
i like the melodies ok, but i wonder if this group will stick with me.
i mean, i havent decide yet if they are a gimmick or great pop.time will tell.

i like the melodies ok, but i wonder if this group will stick with me.
i mean, i havent decide yet if they are a gimmick or great pop.time will tell.

^^i share this dilemma

the challenges that life rises..

I was prepared to hate them (Vampire Weekend) but I really can't deny the tunes.

Ditto. In fact these songs have been growing on me over the last few days. I've had the songs for a month or two but suddenly they're worming their way in.

Is the "new album" actually different from the demo that made them popular in the first place? How different is the track list and/or overall quality (i.e., were songs re-recorded?)

vampire weekend = the strokes + paul simon set in new england

Is the "new album" actually different from the demo that made them popular in the first place? How different is the track list and/or overall quality (i.e., were songs re-recorded?)

Nothing was re-recorded, but maybe remixed. A couple songs were dumped and couple others were added, but I don't know titles.

is the new low lows album a big step forward from the first? their debut is like my morning jacket demos rejected for being completely tuneless

my indie world for '08 will be defined by the seventh for against album, due within the next couple of months..

the auburn lull album will be beautiful

is the new low lows album a big step forward from the first? their debut is like my morning jacket demos rejected for being completely tuneless

i think it's a big step forward, yeah. out of the gates it's amazing. haven't listened enough to vouch for the whole thing but it's only 9 songs so no worries. listen to the track i linked to. my jaw kinda hit the floor.

and i love vampire weekend. all power to em.

low lows song is really fantastic.

new blood on the wall album coming out soon!

http://badicalbeats.com/cutenews/data/upimages/boniver_albumcover.jpg
^^^^sooo good

i don't listen to folk so i have no reference points for this (mtn goats with softer vocals idk) but "skinny love" is the JAM

has anyone heard new meneguar?

Yes, it's awesome. Why do these guys get no love??

The new King Khan and BBQ Show album is the shit

There's a new one? What's it called?

My mistake - not new - a reissue of their first album. It's great!

Also - Tyvek, anyone??

it doesn't sound like mountain goats at all to me.. "skinny love" is indeed good though

that was xpost

So I heard an Of Montreal song and it was actually to my liking. I will stop making fun of them and henceforth direct my ire toward some other indie band I haven't heard.

was it from 'hissing fauna' rev??

Apparently, it's cool to hate Vampire Weekend right now. Just a head's up.

I think so, Jord. "Promethean Curse"

xp: I'll take your suggestion. lol Vampire Weekend. What do they sound like anyway? I hadn't even heard of them until they started popping up on year-end lists.

if vampire weekend's album is just the 11 songs on the mythical blue cd-r plus 2 new snoozers i'm gonna be all ;_;

er, vaguely afro-pop rhythms (basically bongos)+ quick little strokes like guitars + minor keys + falsetto + lyrics that rhyme "lil jon" and "reggaeton" (not a joke) is them in a peanut shell

Uh, I need a different band to hate on, that sounds awesome.

they dress like this:
http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/may_jun07/images/Vampire.jpg

you could always go with the ever reliable Black Kids.

love this album cover:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SPSUk2PqL._SS500_.jpg

"Mansard Roof" was kinda cool in some ways and not cool in others. I think I'd like it more if it were heavier and/or less song-y.

My faggot Mom and brother Dancing to Vampire Weekend.

My mom and my brother they got into the Vampire weekend songs =] COMMENT...My Mom And Brother Dancing Vampire Weekend

lolol

I think "Oxford Comma" is my favorite of the songs I've heard so far. I'm not sure where this falls in the "should be heavier/less song-y" paradigm I set up earlier, because even though it doesn't feel quite as lightweight as the others, it's also the most straightforward in structure.

you will like "a-punk" or esp. "boston" i think if you want more straight-forward stuff

i love love "oxford comma" esp. the way the drums clatter and the keybs. really great good mood bouncy music. not so much when the gtrs come in but i'm hoping they clean those up for the album.

"A-Punk" was alright. "Boston" is only available on the 'tube in a 30-sec clip with horrible sound.

I think I'm going to check out these much-vaunted Negro Youth now.

um "hurricane jane"= my jam

Okay, Vampire Weekend were kind of interesting and kind of annoying, not always in equal doses, but this is just zzz.

but this is just zzz

/consensus

except for, um, me, marc h0gan and maybe zeno if he posted in the black kids thread

My favorite songs on Times New Viking's Rip It Off, I think: "(My Head)", "The Wait," "DROP - OUT," "Come Together," "Relevant : Now," "The Apt.," "Off The Wall," not necessarily in that order.

Only song I absolutely don't like at all on Vampire Weekend's Vampire Weekend: "I Stand Corrected," not necessarily in that order. Though I could probably live without "M79" and "Bryn." The rest has varying degrees of likeability to it.

Also - Tyvek, anyone??
The stuff that I have heard (not much) I've really enjoyed.

HIGH PLACES are great. I saw a great show this past weekend in Lancaster, PA with them and Beach House, whose new stuff is excellent as well. Very exciting show in a DIY warehouse space with two of the bands I'm most psyched on right now!

Looking forward to that PAS/CAL album.. about freakin time!

TYVEK is great as well.. I don't know what releases they have planned for this year though. Could use a good EPs collection CD/LP from them!

Also, apparently BROADCAST will have a new one this year!!!

lots of ! = i am very excited for music this year.

also hype band of the year = BLANK DOGS.

"i stand corrected" sounded awful to me too. the rest i'm pretty much on board w/ (i'm not which sure which song i have got renamed as 'm79') esp. "oxford comma" and "boston"

high places are by far my favorite new band of the year. i have 4 mp3s that i've been burning a hole through the past week or so.

you guys need to listen to the los campesinos album

i didn't really like the last times new viking record, but i'm not really into music that lo-fi.

The Times New Viking record is the best new thing I've heard this year, but I've liked all the other stuff for a while too.

Vampire Weekend surprises me, because I'd normally be inclined to hate all over it. But I can't help myself. It's good.

TYVEK is great as well.. I don't know what releases they have planned for this year though. Could use a good EPs collection CD/LP from them!

Isn't there one coming out? What's Your Rupture sent me a promo of a bunch of their songs last year (and it was v. v. good, like a version of Tokyo Police Club which didn't make me want to commit seppuku).

also I think the Procession are going to be releasing their full-length officially - should be hell of down the alley of anyone who likes 60s-derived indie-pop. Lots of Beach Boys melodies, crazy-ass multi-part harmonizing, kickass solos, very little moping (although it's still decidedly indie as fuck).

also the Paper Cranes' debut is FINALLY coming out this year and is retardedly fun.

Why are they called vampire weekend? It seems like a terrible name to me.

Also: Times New Viking are found good to me.

thought the beach house album was a bit dull. but loving what i've heard of high places so far. somewhere between the microphones (back when he was good) and avalanches. or something.

this week i've really been enjoying something called antarctica takes it. a bit campesinos-lite. more lo-fi/ramshackle though. out on how does it feel soon i think.

ya, regarding Beach House: the guitar in "Gila" is v familiar? It's a pretty nice song anyway.

Rollo Treadway C/D

Hot Chip's "Shake a Fist" just knocked me out of my chair. I might get around to listening to the rest of this if I can get that track off repeat.

^^album of the year

I'm now playing the Vampire Weekend album which just came in the post. Don't think it's gonna be my thing but there was a lyric, "why would you lie about how much coke* you had?" which I thought was cuteish

*might have been "coal" which would be better

tell me4 the latest big indie band so I know who to hate early and then come to appreciate a year after people have moved on

looks like au revoir borealis may have an album out this year, they are mixing it now.

high places remind me of manitoba's "up in flames" a lot.

hmmmmm

i deleted that off my hard drive w/o ever listening to it :/

au revoir borealis
^another shit name

Good band names officially ran out about five years ago.

if they're anythiing like au revoir simone they're gonna suck some major balls

they're actually rather nice. although all of their other "side" things have been dreadful. another michigan band too, it's all i've posted about.

Malkmus' newie is kicking around. ten tracks, almost an hour! sounding pretty immediate on first listen though; big hooks, big fuzzed-out guitar, big drums.

Hot Chip's "Shake a Fist" just knocked me out of my chair. I might get around to listening to the rest of this if I can get that track off repeat.

-- turkey, Friday, 11 January 2008 09:03 (2 days ago) Link

^^album of the year

-- J0rdan S., Friday, 11 January 2008 09:07 (2 days ago) Link

has this leaked??

yeah. every leaked copy i've heard/read about has these 2 second vocoder drops twice a song. it's kinda annoying but doesn't take away from the songs really all that much

This Malkmus album is like wearing someone else's dirty underwear on my face.

I guess it's indie: the Ned Collette song "Show Your Hand" fucking is awesome.

watching mtv's early morning video block:

new janet single ---> new chingy single ---> vampire weekend: "a punk"

as for the album, i'm disappointed by the fact that it's just their cd-r minus the best song ("boston") and plus two okay new ones. i considered putting the cd-r in my 07 top 10 but i've kind of cooled on it (and i guess the album) by now. maybe not but i can't envision myself listening to it more than 3 or 4 times this year.

still interested in what the reviews will be though

Citified - The Meeting After the Meeting

Digging this album. The production's great, spacey and dreamy and not overly compressed (reminds me a bit of early Red House Painters, though the band's overall sound is different).

Check out "Weddings" here: http://www.myspace.com/citified

pas/cal moved back to june, argh! it's never actually going to be released is it.

Ooh, I'm so happy there's a new Citified album. I loved their first one from, what seems like, forever ago.

I have decided that I don't get MGMT, at all, and I am not motivated to precisely figure out why.

I have also decided that I get Hot Chip, at least a little, at least when they do some the more dancey/ New Ordery stuff on their new album ("Ready for the Floor," "Touch To Much," "Hold On"), but deinitely not when they do some of the more indie-twee ("In The Privacy of Our Love") and stupid novelty collage ("Shake A Fist") and off-key-Brit-rap ("Wrestlers") stuff on their album. And the more I listen to it, the less I even like the stuff I sort of like. I'm pretty sure this is more or less how I wound up feeling about their two previous albums as well.

"definitely not," I meant.

Ladyhawk's Shots is kicking my ass right now. Fumbles the ending but the first 8 tracks are perfect.

love the hot chip album

except i really like those ballads

I still really don't like the first Hot Chip album at all, for all the reasons Chuck mentions above. It plays better on the middle and new ones though, for me at least.

MGMT...meh.

I found the new hot chip a little disappointing on first listen. poorly sequenced, I think.

the first hot chip album is ass

i think MGMT are good but unspectacular and a little too 'let's throw it all at the wall and see who sticks'

what sticks, even >_<

so the rest of low lows is good? that yyy's cover is ok, not spectacular or anything

AYO Colin Munroe!

burnypu (3 days ago)
this would be awesome if he could sing

i guess ive heard worse shit

I really like MGMT, a very nice surprise, much better than Yeasayer or Vampire Weekend. Especially "Weekend Wars", this is an amazing track.

hey keythkeyth, what's your source on pas/cal? har, it is nuts that they've taken so long with their album. i interviewed the guy in early 2004 and he said the album would be out by the end of the year! well, if it maintains the quality of those EPs, it'll be worth it, i s'pose.

If I say that Vampire Weekend sounds like Belle & Sebastian without the great arrangements or the sense of humor, will you chase me back to my metal threads?

I feel like indie rock used to actually...rock.

b&s isn't a crazy comparison but VW have a sense of humor i think, or at least they try to.

the de-rocking of indie rock is a whole different issue, and would make for a good discussion though i have to imagine that it's been discussed on ilm in some thread at some point before

If I say that Vampire Weekend sounds like Belle & Sebastian without the great arrangements or the sense of humor, will you chase me back to my metal threads?

No. I would lift my skinny fists like antennas to heaven, and say "Yeah!"

well, if it maintains the quality of those EPs, it'll be worth it, i s'pose.

PAS/CAL is good? I have one of their EPs, but can't recall what it sounds like (Beach Boys-ish, maybe?).

b&s totally have a sense of humour! at least, they do now, maybe not so much in the "if you're feeling sinister" era.

b&s totally have a sense of humour!

That's his point, I think.

woops, misread the post.

I've been avoiding VW ever since someone made a Graceland comparison. Heard waaaaay too much of that as a child.

The cover of the forthcoming VW disc is cool, tho.

Daniel, Pas/Cal is great -- maybe one of the best examples of "indie pop" out there. Nary a false note struck on their three EPs and various singles ... Not really Beach Boys-y (though they do have a song called "Bronzed Beach Boys of the Summer" so the comparison is made often). More Beatles meets Gainsbourg with occasional krautrock forays. Really impressive arrangements, vocal harmonies, etc. I'm surprised they're not more well-known, but maybe if they get around to putting out a record, their star might rise ...

I don't really see the VW and B&S comparison except in really broad terms. And I think B&S always had a sense of humo(u)r, even on IFYS. And I think I'm going to see VW in Philly soon.

Also what I've heard of Pas/cal has been good. You know, if you're into that insufferable twee stuff.

just to repeat: no one said that b&s didnt have a sense of humour

I've been avoiding VW ever since someone made a Graceland comparison. Heard waaaaay too much of that as a child.

This isn't a defence per se as I'm not too down with the VW album but Graceland is the only, or at least by far the most obvious, point of reference. For reviewers and readers. (See Alexis On Fire today)

Woahwoahwoah... "Shake a Fist" = crunkest boring synthpop bullshit ever. (Which is to say all the Hot Chip I've heard in the past has been boring synthpop bullshit. This is synthpop, but not boring or bullshit.)

I look forward to hearing this in better-than-youtube-quality

Woah, my post above these two came out all wrong! I just meant Graceland is an easy point of reference for African guitar sounds in Western rock stylings, not that it was de facto the most correct one. Hmm.

rev if you don't like "ready for the floor" there's probably no hope in you liking hot chip

Haven't heard it. But I do like "Shake a Fist"! A lot! So maybe there is hope for me liking Hot Chip. It's just "Over and Over" and "Boy From School" that....zzzz.

In fact, I'll check that one out right now.

I do not like "Ready For the Floor". We can now establish this. It sounds as half-assed as the other non-"Shake a Fist" songs I've heard by them.

Plz 2 moar awesome techno-crunk, less whingy britnoyingness

there are a few other songs on the album that you'd probably like then

but i couldn't see you liking the whole thing

Which ones? "Playboy" sounds pretty cool. I think I figured out one of problems with them is that the main singer guy sounds kind of like T**m Y***e.

nah "playboy" is from the first album

the stuff on the new album more like "shake a fist" are "touch too much", "one pure thought", "hold on" (if i memory serves me correctly), but idk i don't particularly love all those songs.

i'm pretty sure "shake a fist" is one of the songs they did live (i'm guessing) in the studio so for your maximum hot chip enjoyment i'd checkout the four song live ep they did for itunes which includes two songs you mentioned you didn't like (over and over and boy from school, both of which i love) but are arranged differently and are way more visceral (maybe youtube could help you out here but don't judge on anything they did for tv since they don't really flesh out the arrangements bcuz of time constratints like they do for shows).

(whenever t0m br3ihan writes about hot chip he always says how much more he enjoys them live so i'd check it out if you have 3-4 bucks to spare)

Checking out a couple things that keep getting mentioned on this thread...

w: pas/cal

dnw: times new viking

keep fallin' from the first album is pretty great

How can you not like Boy From School?

Oh mang, these four Ladyhawke demos are hot. (http://www.myspace.com/ladyhawkerock)

2008's been a weak sauce, so far. And, obv., it's way too early to begin assessing "the sound of 2008," but I'll only say that it's interesting to me that the most of the buzzworthy indie rock discs released in January -- e.g., Times New Viking, Evangelicals, and Blood On The Wall -- have that 90s American indie/Alternative vibe.

Sounds come back every 20 years or so (to horribly oversimplify things, 80s college rock sounded like 60s music; 90s indie and grunge sounded like 70s; 00s indie, so far, sounded like 80s). For a while now, I figured that the inevitable 90s revival would draw mostly from shoegaze and Britpop. Now I'm wondering if it will draw mostly from that Pavement-y/lo-fi sound. No way to know that at this point, but it might be an interesting sound to update. At the very least, it would give me a reason to revisit my ho-hum attitude toward that music at the time.

Chauchat - Upon thosands - i think i fell in love with this record.
how come Matador or Merge records havent signed them yet?

FUCK YOU EMUSIC I JUST WANT THE REST OF THESE HIGH PLACES MP3S WITHOUT SIGNING UP FOR YOUR SERVICE THAT I DISCONTINUED 10 MONTHS AGO FUUUUCK YOOOOU

guys we're slacking. WHAT DO WE THINK OF THESE RECENT 'MAJOR' INDIE RELEASES?

mae shi- hllyh
atlas sound- let the blind etc.
mt goats- heretic pride
high places- 03/07 - 09/07

what else?

if it's not already known i love the shit out of high places. think hlllyh is just okay except for the awesome 11 minute jam in the middle of the album. atlas sound is good but a little too dreamy for my tastes.

I'm scared to say I'm just lukewarm on the Mt Goats album on the off-chance JD comes around here and gives me an online bitchslap. So I won't say that.

I could see myself getting tired of High Places at about 5 o'clock tomorrow afternoon, but for now they're pretty good.

Atlas Sound = zzz.

Mae Shi. I have it, but I haven't listened to it yet.

If I hadn't already heard, and fallen in love with, that Atlas Sound album I would be ready to call Pitchfork Captain Save-A-Cox, but its really a good listen. I need to check out High Places.

FUCK YOU EMUSIC I JUST WANT THE REST OF THESE HIGH PLACES MP3S WITHOUT SIGNING UP FOR YOUR SERVICE THAT I DISCONTINUED 10 MONTHS AGO FUUUUCK YOOOOU

Settle down, Bevis.

(j/k, J0rdan).

daniel have you heard bon iver? i think you might like

The Bon Iver disc is superb.

I'm gonna get excited about the new Wedding Present, due in May. And British Sea Power, which I take flack for loving.

How come no BSP albums are as good as the first BSP album?

daniel have you heard bon iver? i think you might like

I'm downloading it this week.

Bon Iver is stunning! I've really fallen for that over the last couple of weeks. The new BSP frustrates me. I can appreciate what they're trying to do, but its just not connecting with me at all.

How come no BSP albums are as good as the first BSP album?

Is the new one any good? It's getting generally good reviews, but the samples sound so . . . lackluster.

Is the debut any good?

ivor dude sounds ok, but the whole "backwoods" marketing angle is kinda dumb, eau claire is like 50,000 ppl or more

i am excited about the new goatz after reading the p-fork review, glad he's going back to character based stuff

im gonna see bon iver in april i think. i've never been to a folk show. do we just stand around in silence?

@Daniel

The first BSP album is still one of my favorites of the 00s, but the second one and the new one just sound like they kind of lost the plot.

haha yes!

also, fold your arms and knowingly nod your head are a particularly affecting lyric

i got reprimanded by mi and l'au (mi or l'au -- whichever one is the dude) in front of the whole audience at the turf club, very embarrassing! and i was only talking in a low voice.

they are crazy though, i guess ivor shows have been pretty packed lately, he just played st. paul so it'll probably be a little rowdier than some michael gira hangers on shit

atlas sound- let the blind etc.

^^ boring, rejected

You need to give that shit another listen. I guess it's boring if you think Slowdive is boring.

Yeah, it's on very limited plays so far, but I like the Atlas Sound disc.

It was okay but I was hoping for something more psych and less indie. I never listened to it from an indie perspective, stupidly enough.

I'm not sure what indie sounds like. I hear critics say that indie is supposedly too mannered and conservative in the 00s (which I can see but don't mind so much), but if that's the case, Deerhunter and Atlas Sound are exceptions to the rule (in different ways).

mae shi is kinda retarded, if the album bears any resemblance to the single. i'm not a mountain goats fan, nor of much at all in that sort of vein these days.

the recent cut off your hands stuff is tremendous tho

Johnny Fever just for the record I would never, ever get huffy with somebody for not liking my stuff. Like, online or otherwise, but especially not online and super-especially not on ILX, Christ I'm not some special-status dude about whose work we can't talk shit or soemthing. And I double-super-especially wouldn't complain that people didn't "understand" it. I think there is little more shameful than an artist defending his work or getting all "you have wronged me, sir! and clearly you did not catch all my clever allusions! let me correct your misconception, so you can pronounce my work good!" etc

esoj on the other hand I am filling out your card

The Atlas Sound seems to have suffered from people expecting something more 00s, more ... beardy, or something, but I like it in pretty much the same way I liked all the blissed-out 90s dream-pop it sounds a crapload like: last Slowdive record, South (the American post-rock one), even Boo Radleys tracks, Seefeel, etc.

i think someone already mentioned it upthread or in another thread but the Ladyhawk album is great

Yeah, Atlas Sound is pretty decent, if kinda overly pretty. But maybe that's because I cover very little indie rock, so I don't get burnt out on the swooshy and warm.

i thought cut off your hands sounded kinda like a rooney (which i guess would be a brit band aping a band that aped brit bands but w/e) but still pretty good

woops soz j0hn i should probably clarify.. i'm not so much of a fan of the newer stuff but also i've been moving away from that sound in general over the last couple of years. didn't mean to sound as dismissive as that came out

i don't remember rooney. but then i do have a habit of occasionally liking really embarrassing indie

Anyone heard the new American Music Club disc? Is it any good?

oh man I love the new AMC so so so much

Yeah? Okay, done. I'll download it tonight.

Huge indie rock "New Arrivals" day at eMusic, BTW (except, ironically, for the new Mountain Goats disc, where there was some type of "ingestion problem." It won't be available in the US until tomorrow or Thursday).

Thanks for being so kind, J0hn. I mean, who am I to begrudge you the opportunity to do what you love the way you love to do it? I guess I just preferred MG with vocals and guitar when it was recorded on a boombox. :)

I still haven't heard the AMC disc yet.

The Atlas Sound seems to have suffered from people expecting something more 00s, more ... beardy, or something, but I like it in pretty much the same way I liked all the blissed-out 90s dream-pop it sounds a crapload like: last Slowdive record, South (the American post-rock one), even Boo Radleys tracks, Seefeel, etc

Nice to see someone else finally acknowledging the slowdive/seefeel influence. Don't forget talk talk, bark psychosis, etc. It's going to take people a while to warm up because he's too small, too skinny, and wears a dress, but I have a feeling this is the start of something great.

ive said it 3 times and ill say it again:
chauchat - upon thousands.
Seam meets Galaxie 500 meets early Sonic youth.superb.
am i the only one who think it's a great album?

I thought the Chauchat was pretty boring but the Seam ref seems pretty right. I thought they were boring too.

Seam is great."the problem with me" esp.

I guess I just preferred MG with vocals and guitar when it was recorded on a boombox.

I prefer it with Solter and Vanderslice magic! I still haven't heard the new one, looking forward to it.

i heard a song on the college station today by a band called The Big Sleep...sounded like a more hard rock yeah yeah yeahs or something, pretty good riff on the song, anyone know them?

i guess they are from NY

matt you can stream their new album here

http://www.frenchkissrecords.com/bigsleep/

danke!

i generally have posi feelings about french kiss records.

Well worth a listen... The Jane Bradfords
would appeal to Broadcast, Felt, New Order, Stereolab, Pulp fans

Debut album due April 7th: The Jane Bradfords MySpace.com - The Jane Bradfords - BELFAST, UK - Indie / Melodramatic Popular Song / Tropical - www.myspace.com/thejanebradfords:

"If you were able to fuse Ceremony-era New Order with Mars Audiac Quintet-era Stereolab, you might come close to the sound of The Jane Bradfords. With an effusive pop sensibility plugged straight into the heart of post punk minimalism, each song rises and falls in glorious waves of joy and sorrow." - Stephen McCauley, Electric Mainline

I like this new Bon Iver album a lot, but can somebody tell me how it's got an 85 METASCORE on 11 reviews, when only one of those 11 rates the disc above an 81? Seems impossible to me, even with METACRITIC's murky rating-attribution and aggregation systems.

So Times New Viking's album is more timid and so-what average-indie-diddle to me every time I put it back on. Weird -- sounded okay at first. I think I convinced myself something was there that isn't, but if somebody can explain what's so great about it, I'm all years. I want to like it, honest.

Either way, here are a few indie albums I like more than Times New Viking so far this year (though a couple of them are probably technically from late last year, who cares): Ross Johnson, Home Blitz, Frozen Bears, Tonic Rays, Lazy Magnet, Final Solutions, New Bloods, Venus Bogardus, Chow Nasty, Left Lane Cruiser, Night Wounds, and, uh, Vampire Weekend. Not necessarily in that order, but close.

average-indie-diddle

What does this mean? I hear stuff like it -- e.g., "indie schmindie" -- a lot, and I guess there's some common complaint about the way indie sounds, but I don't know what it is? Too mannered or singer-songwriter-ish, maybe?

One too many "?"s there, sorry. Middle sentence should end w/ a period.

I think it's just not as good as the first two TNV albums. Their thing is pretty diminishing-returns.

I mean the album just has this shy little sound despite what every seems to be saying about it, and not much kick to it, and I'm getting less and less idea there's anything weird or special about the tunes, and (bottom line probably, sorry) it could sure use more lively rhythm and singing. (But right, not all indie sounds that way. The emphasis should be on "average", not "indie," okay?) I don't know their previous albums at all; just a 7-inch from a few years ago, the "Busy Making Love + War" one, which struck me as fairly unique at the time.

And I know I'm supposed to blown away by how "lo-fi" it is, but it's just not that....interesting. I mean, I'm not that much of a Swell Maps or Pavement fan (even Pavement's Drag City stuff, which was always what I liked the most by them), but it's pretty clear those two bands had way better melodies.

Maybe I'm missing something, though. I feel like I've heard people compare them to cool old Ohio bands like, say, Vertical Slit or Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, but I don't hear that at all.

(Also, I've never really given a shit about Guided By Voices. So maybe that's my problem.)

GbV are a lot more rewarding when you don't particularly give a shit about them, I think.

It's definitely not a revelation. They're a nice little band with some decent tunes, but if that's the stuff they're getting compared to it's not even close.

I've had similar feelings about TNV for a while now. I like them, but I feel as though I'm settling somehow, not demanding enough. Their best songs are catchy enough, and I admire the spirit in which they seem to operate, but there's some essential spark missing. Maybe in part it's that they're operating so entirely within established, comfortable parameters? It's hard not to compare them (unfavorably) with early Pavement, GBV and Xpressway stuff when they do so little to distinguish themselves from their predecessors.

Plus, with maybe a couple exceptions, the tunes are never morethan "catchy enough".

I'm not that much of a Swell Maps or Pavement fan . . . . but it's pretty clear those two bands had way better melodies. Maybe I'm missing something, though.

I never understood the love for Pavement. So maybe I'm missing something.

headups for fans of stereolab and old skool twee indie-pop c86

If John Peel was still with us...these lot would be booked for a session

Je suis animal - from Norway

MySpace.com - Je suis animal - Oslo, NO - Indie / Pop / Psychedelic - www.myspace.com/jesuisanimal

Influences The Shop Assistants, Nico, Silver Apples, The Tables, Young Marble Giants, Syd Barrett, Yeah Yeah Noh, Velvet Underground, The Chills, The Pastels, The Marine Girls, Broadcast, The Vaselines, Faust, Talulah Gosh, Prolapse, My Bloody Valentine, Le Orme, Joy Division, The Shangri Las, Kaleidoscope, Stereolab, Can, Neu, Jefferson Airplane, The Sugarcubes, Os Mutantes, Joe Meek, White Noise, Rocketship, Nick Nicely

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/s1358834.jpg

born ruffians' red yellow blue sounds pretty good right now

I just realized that Je Suis Animal (who I only heard of a couple days ago) are not the same band as Je Suis France (who put out a not-bad CD last year.)

Unless they are the same band.

these spiking chords and strangled, yelpy vocals will probably annoy the shit out of me soon but i'm in the mood for by the book old skool indie right now

An album that I'm waay late on that is pretty excellent -- Figurines' Skeleton. I even like the first song what could be construed as "emo".

Yep, very good album. Follow-up was crap though.

Yeah, I don't think I'll bother with that one.

i REALLY dug that born ruffians ep from '06.. would be well keen to hear their elpee

Listening to Swedish electropop indie duo the LK. Some of it works, some lacks hooks. They use gutars and drums but mix and sample them to sound different. Likened by some to the Postal Service. I also hear some New Order.

anyone heard this ruby suns joint? the one song i heard made me really tired of panda bear/el guincho effect but i might dld and give it a few tries

panda bear/el gunicho vocal effect*

indie leak report, recent stuff:

tokyo police club- elephant shell
jamie lidell- jim
fleet foxes- ragged wood (working title)
young knives- superabundance

some ones from bands i don't really care about:
devotchka- a mad & faithful telling
cloud cult- feel good ghosts

je suis animal sounds a lot like early ectogram.

this fleet foxes album is really good. really struck by how vertical the music is, really towering and open-- even when the guitars come in they are always really distinct lines moving up or down. really liking it.

Monsieur Lidell put on one of the more entertaining performances I've seen. Funny motherfucker.

just used the word really seven times. in any event, will report back about this tpc soon. maybe my most anticipated album of the year-- def most anticipated debut

Ruby Suns is alright - world music meets kiwirock. I've spun it twice and it gets better with more listens but it's not a world beater. Lots of tunes on their myspace site.

I listened to the first McPhun & Ruby Suns album a lot two years ago, and liked it, but for some reason just can't motivate myself to hear this one. I should hear it before I write it off completely, I suppose, but I'm pretty sure one will be enough.

There's a couple decent tunes on that Born Ruffians disc, but those yelpy vocals just annoy the shit out of me. Their drummer is really pretty good though, I enjoy listening to those parts.

I spun that Ruby Suns for the first time, I was underwhelmed based on the praise I've heard for it, but I think I'll need to spend some more time with it.

The Fleet Foxes stuff, the EP and LP, is really gorgeous. Looking forward to digging in deeper to both of them.

Curious to hear your thoughts on the TPC disc Jordan, I'm also anxiously awaiting that one.

i totallly hate the jaime lidell record i think. prob shouldnt judge so soon but not feelin it.

long blondes new one is good

IYFS

Agreed re: Long Blondes. Tis nice.

jon

the tpc is weird! definitely not what i expected. they have sanded their edges considerably, the songs are way more structured and less ragged. i don't like it as much as the ep and my two fav songs so far are "in a cave" and "your english is good", but i usually come into loving their stuff a while after i hear it so i'm not totally concerned.

singer's voice changed as well

Hmmm. I kinda liked the rough edges, but you are right about the stuff growing on you eventually. I dismissed them early on, but I grew to really love some of those songs especially after seeing them at Lollapalooza last year. They put on a pretty fun set for being so early in the day.

Does anyone know of a list of release dates thats similar to that Stereogum one posted uptread that goes further into the year? Metacritic is okay, but it only covers the bigger releases.

I agree that the TPC album has lost a certain something by sanding the edges off of "A Lesson in Crime". The background "hey!"s and "go!"s, etc. gave that release a communal feel that was very inviting. That said, what it gains (a sense of pacing and flow) might balance the loss. The EP was 16 minutes of adrenaline, while Elephant Shell is 30ish minutes with some rise and fall.

"In a Cave" and "Your English is Good" are the most immediate, but "Tessellate" and "Centennial" grew on me fairly quickly. It could just be that I haven't been listening for them, but are there substantially fewer guitar solos here? And a bit more texture? Anyway. Positive first impression, not sure where it'll go from here.

Also, now that they've moved on from (awesome) song cycles about robots taking over the planet, I'm not quite sure what Monks new lyrical focus is. "Elephant shell, you're my cave and I've been hiding out / will you tell me a little bit about / a bit about yourself," is a gorgeous musical moment, even if I can't parse its meaning.

Just downloaded the Born Ruffians RY&B. I'm curious to compare which band has been more successful in the transition from endearingly scrappy danceable EPs to full lengths.

"Elephant shell, you're my cave and I've been hiding out / will you tell me a little bit about / a bit about yourself"

love this too. yeah... i haven't really been paying attention to the lyrics much either, though not like "your english is good" is easy to parse either.

listened to the full ruby suns today. it's good! not something i think i could listen to actively, but it filled the room nicely and will be pretty nice outside summer music

thought the new man man was really disappointing after a few listens but i'm holding out hope

Whoa. New Man Man is floating about? Haven't happened upon that. Pre-release buzz was equally weird as Six Demon Bag, but more focused and cohesive. Not true?

About 90 per cent of the best music released is some sort of UK indie, and it has been that way since 1993-94.

got the five latest EPs by matinee records bands in my hot hands.. will report back

the electric pop group ep is about as exciting as its sleeve. a competent but anonymous early 90s flexidisc jangle and three very brighter-esque tracks that sarah would have considered way too dull to release

strawberry whiplash is a step up. wouldn't have been out of place on subway. huge reverb on everything. could be considered fashionable with possible raveonettes comparisons, but it's far more darling buds than anything else. 'factory girl' is the winner here for reminding me a bit of miaow and james, even though the title refers to andy warhol's factory not mr wilson's

northern portrait sits somewhere in between the windmills and earlier railway children. pretty good.

bubblegum lemonade in with early creation drum machine shambolic pastels moves. pretty much what i would picture if someone said "lo fi twee" but with none of the girly vocals and acoustic guitars that might bring to mind. won't set the world on fire but this is a lot of fun.

I'm really liking the new Be Your Own Pet now that I've finally heard it. I don't know yet if I like it as much as the debut, but it definitely doesn't disappoint.

where is the:
"fleet foxes: new vampire weekend of 2008?" thread?

Shins meets Grizzly bear -
surely a hype concept.

the retribution gospel choir CD release party is in st. paul on thursday i'm thinking of going. they have been awesome when i've seen them.

i ended up liking heretic pride a whole bunch.

I pretty much loved everything Tokyo Police Club did until the full-length, so I'm disappointed that the only track I really love on it is "Your English Is Good," which I heard months ago.

the new auburn lull is beautiful, i mean it is an auburn lull record, but it seems much nicer than the last one which i loved. could be the novelty of it.

i really like the Blood On The Wall album that came out this year....that might be it

dudes new indian jewelry mp3s are fire

http://www.myspace.com/whywhiskeywhy

^^^fuck with these

just did a little radio session with these lot and they're great
http://www.myspace.com/therockynest

also new Fonda 500 alb should be out soon I think

I can't believe the few of you chatting about Tokyo Police Club are poo-pooing on the new album -- I'm all for the polish and against the noxious yipping "communal" nonsense. (NB: I've given the full-length one listen, and was immediately smitten; I gave the A Lesson in Crime a few spins a while back, and was unimpressed. If I change my mind, well, OK then.)

Given that I brought up the "communal" nonsense, I just felt like clarifying.

a) It was a silly term to use.
b) Definitely not slagging the new album. I just said it felt less immediate/urgent, but was growing on me quickly. I stand by that.
c) The immediacy comment wasn't a judgment on the quality of songs. With the exception of "Citizens of Tomorrow", "Be Good" and "Nature of the Experiment" the new songs are almost uniformly stronger than the EP.

That said, why hate on the hand-claps and backing vocals? They're fun.

Because I'm a hater? And my reading comprehension is for shit?

I think I just grouped all that hand-clappy / backing vox stuff in w/ Why I Don't Like This, and went overboard. Like I said, haven't listened to the EP in a while, so maybe I'll hear angels and ambrosia if I throw it on now. Tho that same "communal" sense is what cheesed me off about Black Kids, so maybe I just hate inclusion. (NB: I am a misanthrope.)

new fonda 500 album is finally coming out? excellent. currently listening to still corners 'remember pepper', like Birdie meets Broadcast, really great. More broadcast than misty dixon even.

Inclusion sucks anyway. Isn't that the point of indie?

The "communal" vibe turns me off of a lot of other bands (i.e. much of Polyphonic Spree, I'm From Barcelona, often Henri Faberge and the Adorables). It doesn't for Tokyo Police Club and Arcade Fire and...well, others I can't think of right now. I'm actually not sure what draws the line between endearing kitchen sink "communal"ism and "Oh Lord, not again" corniness.

There may be something to tease out of this about audience participation, self-conscious music, and Justin Timberlake's Senorita but I don't know what it is...

it's not the lack of communality that's bothering me, it's just the fact that i think their songs are worse because they've sanded their edges in places-- it's not a principle thing, just for them i don't think it works

but then again i haven't listened in like a week so i reserve the right etc

i mean i really love ep to pieces

Cut Copy - "Far Away"

^^^ this song rulz, there is hope for indie-dance

i was finally able to get my guitar to do that jangly shit. look out for the burt_stanton experience coming soon to pete's candy store!

"thee oh sees" record ("the master's bedroom is worth spending the night in") seems like a nice take on minimal garage,trying to sound like the missing link between the monks to the white stripes.

anyone heard Whalebones? Neil Youngish band from Seattle. There are a thousand bands like this, but they seem good from the 2 songs I heard.

My issue with Tokyo Police Club is that they used to sound eager and nervous, and now they seem a bit more comfortable, and it's for the worse.

^otm

John & Jehn ...another new 2008 discovery...i expect electricsound of jim and keythkeyth will enjoy this...

listen on myspace..
John & Jehn
http://www.myspace.com/johnjehn

debut album due April 28th

info via Rough Trade Shops:
http://tinyurl.com/6ako22

john and jehn are a french duo who moved from their hometowns to london at the back end of 2006. it is impossible to talk about them without mentioning that they are a couple and very much in love. it's this dynamic that is fundamental to their self-titled debut album, 'john and jehn' : from the evident passion in the songwriting, performance and delivery, through to the physical presentation of the album being split into two halves - 'side john' and 'side jehn'. influenced by serge gainsbourg, the velvet underground, gang of four, joy division, and johnny cash, john and jehn's music is a collection of sonic experiments, carried by dark humour on razor-sharp pop melodies. the subtle dynamics in their songwriting and the balance between chaos and beauty: the understanding of light and shade ensures the band's first lp stands out from the crowd; the mastery of heartbreaking melodies juxtaposed with drones and white noise, the sense of space in the mix.

this sounds good

anyone in here like the dodos album? i didn't like any of the mp3s i heard off it so i didn't bother but i haven't seen like anything negative written about them.

also islands has leaked. very rawk. sounds kinda good tho. tentative excitement restored

ayo rev if you're still reading this find the new hot chip song on youtube you might like

the dodos album is a delight

might be the best of 2008 so far imo

I like the Dodos album, too. Then again, Zeno and I are almost the only ILX'ors who liked TNP's Challengers disc, so maybe our opinions are suspect.

I know this is shallow, but I haven't been in a rush to hear it based solely on the name of the band.

though ive abandoned "Challengers" after a really short while, (the first time with a NP record for me).

The Dodos are somewhat like the catchier version of Animal Collective, with great melodies and transformations during songs.
maybe too "indie" for the ILM taste.
almost only acoustic guitar and drums though it sounds much fuller and richer than it actually is.

and the name of the band is awful indeed.

The Dodos are somewhat like the catchier version of Animal Collective, with great melodies and transformations during songs.
maybe too "indie" for the ILM taste.

Yes to the first part. Dodos don't have the same quirks and ticks that keep me away from Animal Collective. More straightforward and melodic.

I don't listen to Challengers much these days, either. And, sadly, the other TNP's discs are all sort of played-out for me, at the moment.

"thee oh sees" record ("the master's bedroom is worth spending the night in") seems like a nice take on minimal garage,trying to sound like the missing link between the monks to the white stripes.

-- Zeno, Friday, 11 April 2008 12:43 (2 days ago) Link

So it sounds like the Coachwhips then.........?

never heard of them.now when i think about it - they sound like "the mighty ceasars" , which is nice, but doesnt the world is full of the same sounding garage bands?

"the other TNP's discs are all sort of played-out for me"

OTM.

the time is perfect for another A.C. Newman solo record.

I don't disagree. But I do think an A.C. Newman solo record would sound more like Challengers than, say, Electric Version. But if that's the case, I think critics would give him a much easier time than they did TNP with Challengers.

if it will sound like "the slow wonder" it will be fine with me )and another masterpiece),though i was reading somewhere that Newman wants to make a record with the best musicains around, sort of like his own "astral weeks".

anyway, i hope the next NP record (that is supposed to be worked upon as we speak) will make make a new, fresh shift for their sound.

I'd like to see maybe an NPs side project, minus Bejar and the girls, where the remaining members just crank out a bunch of Newman-penned songs with reckless abandon.

it can be called called a newman solo record

That's not as much fun. Newman seems like the kind of guy who has a notebook somewhere full of potential band names.

Next TNP's disc: More Todd Fancey, plz! His solo records actually deserve mention on this thread. The lyrics are dumb as a bag-of-hammers, but he's got some of the best 70s soft-rock pastiche around (and I mean that in a good way). Also, he's a very good drummer, I think.

there are to 3 great songs on "Fancey", the rest is mediocre."Fancey scmancey" - i should check

Is one of the "great songs" you mention the one that sounds remarkably like The Carpenters? That's song is so good.

I haven't got Fancey Scmancey, but I do have the EP that preceeded it (called Endless Summer). One song common to both the EP and the record -- Heaven's Way -- is definitely worth checking out).

time for a zumpano revival.

superconductor revival

never heard of them.

-- Zeno, Sunday, 13 April 2008 12:02 (3 hours ago) Bookmark Link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dwyer_%28Musician%29

u______________________u

another top notch discovery for 2008

The Declining Winter
http://www.rustedrail.com/decliningwinter2.html

The Declining Winter is the solo musical project of Richard Vincent Adams of Leeds, England, a co-founder of Hood. "Goodbye Minnesota" is his debut album under this guise. Ranging from epic claustrophobia to rustic folk-dub explorations, with spectral atmospheres anchored to pastoral roots, "Goodbye Minnesota" delivers hypnotic melancholia via abstract hiphop, shoegaze, dub and post rock explorations. Along the way there's also rain-drenched pop and globally warmed electronic folk. These are ghostly songs filled with absence, longing and seasonally affected melodies - the sound of cassette tapes spilling out of the glovebox of a 1970's Datsun Sunny somewhere in the north of England, captured on Super 8 film. This CD album is housed in a recycled card sleeve in keeping with the environmentally-concerned nature of the project.

listen:

MySpace.com - The Declining Winter - UK - Indie / Acoustic / Electronica - www.myspace.com/thedecliningwinter

I enjoy some Hood here and there, but those samples all sound boring. :(

bracken was not good either, why not just make a hood record instead?

On the new Islands record, Arm's Way.

Return to the Sea, great though it was, always felt a bit less vital on record. Arm's Way sounds like what RTTS songs transformed into live...more rock, more epic, more strings, more jams. more awesome? quite possibly.

RTTS still had some pretty heavy Unicorns vibes to it at times, and it feels like Nick's finally shaken off the 'cute'. it's in the spirit of Swans, Volcanoes and Whalebone instead of Rough Gem or Jogging Gorgeous Summer, and that's fine by me.

having listened to arm's way a few times, i think it benefits from the cohesiveness and seriousness, i just don't think it's as good as return to the sea. i think the beginning of the record is really strong- esp. title track (the strings!) and the one about jaime which has that completely sublime outro- but by the end of it it's just basically riffs and nick shouting a lot. i guess they are a new band and will never strike a balance between return to the sea and arm's way but i guess that's what would make me most happy. i do like return to the sea a lot tho, and think it's better than the new one

"arm's way",compared to the previous, is a more straightforward, simple indie rock record that youve heard a thousand times before.in short: it's mainly boring.

whaddup thread?

what indie albums is the rev feeling this year?

what indie albums is the rev feeling this year?

Also Zeno u should check out other John Dwyer stuff

I'm digging this guy: http://www.myspace.com/jongpang

(label-offered mp3s here: http://vuf-empire.dk/tigerspring/)

re: Jong Pang - i just bookmarked them last week ! quality quirky electronic art-pop from Denmark

anyone in here like the dodos album?...i haven't seen like anything negative written about them.

http://idolator.com/376030/beelzebub-beaters-healthy-hip+hop-ignition-starters-familiar-faces-canadian-country-and-some-not+yet+extinct-dodos

Jong Pang remind me of Broadcast

another future tip ...The Joy Formidable
http://www.myspace.com/thejoyformidable

London based band ..amazingly still apparently unsigned !

just what are the A&R staff doing at the likes of ...Fat Cat, Bella Union, Too Pure, Domino etc.

what is the verdict of ILM?

"Austere" is great. Going to listen to more in a moment.

They've been around for a while, seem to change their name and drummer every 6 months or so, and were a 4-piece until quite recently, but they seem happier as they are now. Been working with Gil Norton, or so I've heard. Great live.

"should check out other John Dwyer stuff"

thanks wilter, i will.

how are "frightened rabbit" btw?

also for this week:

dark meat (the fuck?) album streaming at paper thin walls. is either going to be ridiculously great or literally the most insufferable album of the year

it sounds annoying on first listen
xpost to myself

I saw that Dark Meat album at the store. The sticker dropped Albert Ayler, Eddie Hazel, and Crazy Horse, and you better be damn careful throwing around names like that.

Upon listening, Dark Meat = Ayler, Hazel, Crazy Horse if you're under the impression those guys were just fucking around.

does that mean that it's bad

ESTRANGED ILX POSTER LOU1S J4GGER REPORTS:

Rolling Indie thread needs mention of the following: http://www.qwithoutu.com/ ...they sound great IMO and I think they're debut album will do surprisingly well. Obviously not nearly the same but thick Scottish accent = this year's Twilight Sad?

Wait, there's really a band called Q Without U? Someone should sue.

add n to x

Silje Nes: I enjoy this indie chick

Solid Brisbane indie band worth checking out.

Lawrence English, Ben Frost, John Chantler involved in teh production.

Tickley Feather: I enjoy this indie chick even more.

a band who lists sandpit as an influence is something i can definitely dig xpost

how are "frightened rabbit" btw?

I listened a little, I like it.

But fuck I really like the first track of the new Islands.

Jim, email if u want me to up that album.

what indie albums is the rev feeling this year?

-- J0rdan S., Sunday, April 13, 2008 9:11 PM (Sunday, April 13, 2008 9:11 PM) Bookmark Link

Uh, I think the only ones I've heard are Weekend Vampire (liking quite a bit in spite of myself) and Dengue Fever (meh). If I'm missing whatever, then I'm missing whatever.

what indie albums is the rev feeling this year?

-- J0rdan S., Sunday, April 13, 2008 9:11 PM (Sunday, April 13, 2008 9:11 PM) Bookmark Link

Uh, the aforementioned Weekend Vampire, Erykah Badu (which I have come to recognize as a masterpiece after being initially ambivalent), Kelley Polar, Portishead, Sebastien Tellier, The-Dream, Mary J. Blige, Cheri Dennis, that Rhymefest Michael Jackson mixtape thing, Janet Jackson, Nejo y Dalmata, Angel y Khriz, and whatever I'm forgetting.

Upon listening, Dark Meat = Ayler, Hazel, Crazy Horse if you're under the impression those guys were just fucking around.

-- call all destroyer, Monday, April 14, 2008 3:54 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

does that mean that it's bad

-- J0rdan S., Monday, April 14, 2008 3:54 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

For me it is bad since I think those dudes tended to have some gravity to 'em.

not listened to much indie lately but heard a couple of songs by Evangelicals and quite like them. worth checking out yay or nay?

The new Islands record is so incredibly bloated (68 mins!) and godawful that I'm actively dreading the Human Highway (Jim Guthrie/Nick Thorburn) album.

not listened to much indie lately but heard a couple of songs by Evangelicals and quite like them. worth checking out yay or nay?

Disc is "meh."

NEW PONYTAIL SONG IS A JAAAAM
http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Ponytail/music

w00t! The Santogold album just went leaky. Haven't listened yet, but there's no way it can be bad.

everyone listen to this ponytail song

johnny report back as to how the santogold is. i thought "l.e.s. artistes" was garbage but im mildly interested in the full length

none of the new Islands has rubbed my belly in a partic good way but i heard the Human Highway disc once and it sounded v v nice.

Uh, I think the only ones I've heard are Weekend Vampire (liking quite a bit in spite of myself) and Dengue Fever (meh).

Yeah. Totally despite myself, I do like that Sober Driver song a lot, tho.

you know, the new frightened rabbit album is really pretty spectacular.

Yeah. Totally despite myself, I do like that Sober Driver song a lot, tho.

-- Daniel, Esq., Thursday, April 17, 2008 7:39 PM (Thursday, April 17, 2008 7:39 PM) Bookmark Link

Yeah, most of the Dengue Fever album can probably stand on its own, it's just too much of the same.

I really, really want to hear that one. I held off on hearing it until I could buy it, but now I can't seem to find it anywhere.

(xpost Fr. Rabbit)

you know, the new frightened rabbit album is really pretty spectacular.

I want to hear more about this disc. I have it earmarked to download, but I keep hesitating. I guess I keep thinking "lol indie schmindie," even though I like indie rock (a lot of the time).

It's on eMusic, Jon, if that helps.

it's totally just unexperimental guitar-y indie rock, wistful and passionate. but it's really compellingly played, great sense of dynamics, chewy lyrics, and the singer's voice is (quietly) phenomenal. when you're listening to a song for the fifth or sixth time you realise how much his delivery contributes to the song. super good. there's a folky vibe to the earnestness - much more okkervil/wilco than modest mouse/interpol in the singing. bonus for good scottish accent, too.

it's basically a much better version of that twilight sad stuff.

their first album's good too, but much more spotty and less feral.

I actually like some of that Twilight Sad disc. I thought they had a good way with rousing, stadium-rock-type choruses, at least on the first few songs (disc was v. front-loaded, if I remember correctly). Okay, I'll download the Frightened Rabbit disc.

Now see, I liked that Twilight Sad disc a lot, much for the reasons Daniel mentioned. I felt like the first Frightened Rabbit disc was much more loose and not quite as dour.

The Twilight Sad only have one song, but damn it's a pretty great song. I fear Frightened Rabbit might be Glaswegian overload for me.

From The Philippines:

Moscow Olympics
http://www.myspace.com/moskva80

Sound like Broadcast and Paris Angels, also stated influences: northern picture library. blueboy. the wake. MBV. new order. the railway children. galaxie 500. early creation. sarah records. shoegaze.

This comment in a story about My Morning Jacket, taken from this month's edition of Rolling Stone, bothers me:

their sets combine headbanging energy, too-accomplished-to-be-indie guitar solos and covers that range from Dylan to Prince.

That's just grossly overbroad, and wrong. I mean:

• Spoon
• Bloc Party
• Low
• Destroyer
• Sun Kil Moon
• The Clientele

These are all “indie” bands, right? What about their guitar sound is relatively unaccomplished? Acts aren’t “indie” because they’re inherently inferior to acts on major labels; there are many reasons an act is on an independent label, and many of those reasons have nothing to do with talent or musicianship. MMJ was an “indie” band for a long time, if they aren’t still.

moscow olympics are pretty twee, a bit like blueboy meets the orchids, nothing at all like broadcast really, they also remind of sliver screen who are meant to have a new album out this year as well. pas/cal moved back again, now to july. it is never coming out. darla has a clientele album on acuarela listed as coming soon, any idea what this is? a european issue of the last record?

The Oh Sees album is talked about up there somewhere isn't it? I thought I didn't have much time for it but after a louder and more attentive listen I've changed my mind. A lot of the stuff I dug about Coachwhips is still there, just kicked out in a slightly different way. There's also a track called 'Quadrospazzed' which has made me happy but until LouJag comes back and reads this thread I guess no-one else is gonna be lame enough to admit to something like that

i heard a song by tokyo police club on the radio. it wasn't very good. true story.

INDIE BAND FOR CONSTANT '08 SUMMER JAMMING: THE WAR ON DRUGS

http://hypem.com/search/the%20war%20on%20drugs/1/

i'm not even sure what they (he?) sound like. have a def alt-country vibe, but they remind me of peter bjorn and john's more shoegazy/hazy moments. the guitars kind of meld togehter and then glisten for a few seconds at a time before receding back to creating a "mood"-- best of all tho melodies just roll off the dude's tongue with ease and gives the song's these propulsive but kind of rickety feel. really really really digging these two songs ("take the farm", "arms like boulders")

gives the song's these propulsive but kind of rickety feel

christ

gives these songs this propulsive but kind of rickety feel

Finally got around to checking out the Tokyo Police Club full-length, kinda disappointed. But I'm going to give it a few more tries before dismissing it.

And, while I'm sure I'm in the ilm minority on this one, the new Phantom Planet isn't half-bad.

Well, I gave the TPC album another go-round during the drive home and some of the songs started grabbing at me. It might turn out to be better than I thought.

titus andronicus are the real deal

repulsive but prickety

i don't know all the classic rock references but i imagine the springsteen thing to be right, but they remind me most of exploding hearts in spirit and attitude. totally sloppy, drunk, noisy and great.

xpost to myself there

i figured the last 3 songs on the album which total like 16 minutes would drag but it's basically pounding riffs like all the songs with dudes shooting off gtr solos every once in a while and you basically wanna get lost in the noise for 46 minutes instead

man how does this Blood on the Wall album not get more love, it's one of my favorites of the year

they remind me most of exploding hearts in spirit and attitude.

This is high praise. The Exploding Hearts were a heck of a band. Such a shame what happened with them.

Plants and Animals - Parc avenue

this record has some pretty good tracks in it

sort of a 70's pop-rock effort filterd through 00's production, like Young and Sexy or Essax Green maybe.
melodic and pleasent.

It's hook-ier and -- relatively -- less jam band-y than I expected it to be.

if youre looking for a more jam-y effort from the same atmosphere, look for Citay's Little Kingdom.

No, I'll take more hooks and less jam.

i'm with you, (though Citay are quite a good band)

nah because a lot of the threads for fringe indie bands— phosphorescent, vampire weekend, be your own pet, tough alliance threads off the top of my head— are all like 7 posts long usually by the same 4-5 people. so it amkes sense just to gather everyone here.

-- J0rdan S., Monday, December 31, 2007 6:34 PM (Monday, December 31, 2007 6:34 PM) Bookmark Link

lol

lol yeah i was really surprised that that thread hadnt taken off by then so i figured no one on here cared about them, hence my constantly bringing them up in here

true lolz tho

do high places have an album or just random songs on myspazz?

um they did an album for emusic that's only available thru the site called 03/07-09/07, tho at this point it's pretty findable just by googling the right words, but they will have a real full-length coming out on thrill jockey (i believe) later this year

I don't get high places....

good post

i don't get your post

i get freak folk, I get psych folk, I just dont get High Places, I liked one of the songs on their album.........thats about it

^^^this guy.

ok I went back and reworked the latest posts. Hope your happy now bitch troll
-- wesley useche, Friday, 6 April 2007 15:52 (1 year ago) Bookmark Link

:D

i dont get what folk has to do with high places

isn't it electronic freak folk?

Yeah.

Do you like electronic freak folk, Wes?

eh maaaaybe, idk if there is much to get about them-- you either like the really simple, floaty melodies and the woman's nice voice and the jangley percussion or you don't? i never equated them to like getting brightblack morning light or something. it's just really nice music to literally listen to and zone out to, if that makes sense.

much better than arguing w/ a troll at 3 in the morning anyway

talking about w4lter here btw :)

I'm not trolling, I just seriously don't get it, the percussion sounded like a car crash to me, and everything just doesn't seem to mix well....

not spamming this thread just the board in general

ANYWAY, i dont think any of your points are invalid, and i don't find their music to be terribly emotionally resonant, but it sounds really nice to me and as far as purposefully fucked with and stripped down pop songs go i think they are really sticky and memorable

tho i now mostly put this on when i want to hear something but not listen to it, just kinda let it enter my subconscious and wash me over, but i still like it when i "listen to it" and i think that it still fills an important niche at times otherwise

Have Wild Beasts been mentioned here or anywhere on ILM? I've not noticed if they have been. Their album is pretty WTF. Quasi-operatic vocals and weird twittery prog-glam music. Also they formed in Kendal where previously, only mint cake has come from

the one wild beasts song i like, "brave bulging buoyant clairvoyants", i love, but the rest of the things i've heard by them are a little more all over place, mostly plagued by the music not really work as well w/ the singers growl as that song does

"Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants" is good enough of a song to overcome the band's limitations. I haven't heard the album yet, but I can't imagine I could take that guy's voice very well for 10 or 12 (or however many) songs in succession.

new ballboy in august.

i don't much dig the wild beasts single, but the rest of the stuff on bad sneakers is totes up my alley.. those two acutes singles and the new lodger = <3

im gonna see bon iver in april i think. i've never been to a folk show. do we just stand around in silence?

I went to see Bon Iver a couple of days ago, doing an instore at the Rough Trade shop. There were only about 65 people in there, but they had a big stage with a plugged in band and everything. After a couple songs, the singer said "Hey, if it's not too artsy or 'look at me,' we think it might be better if we just come down on the floor and play like that." So they (3 of them total; they do the choral parts really well) came down and played the rest of the set kind of campfire-style.

It was the kind of thing that probably would have 99% of ILM dry-heaving, but it was really beautiful. Those songs are so straightforward, but so haunting.

That was months ago, but Je Suis Animal are thoroughly excellent. And although they are friends, Je Suis Animal and Je Suis France are two completely different bands.

I went to see Bon Iver a couple of days ago, doing an instore at the Rough Trade shop. There were only about 65 people in there, but they had a big stage with a plugged in band and everything. After a couple songs, the singer said "Hey, if it's not too artsy or 'look at me,' we think it might be better if we just come down on the floor and play like that." So they (3 of them total; they do the choral parts really well) came down and played the rest of the set kind of campfire-style.

The METASCORE for that disc is sky-high. It's a nice album and all, but . . . huh.

But as I've said before, I probably need to give it more listens.

It's catching on huge, if primetime dramas are any indication. On the same night, at roughly the same time, I caught snippets of the album playing on One Tree Hill and the season finale of House.

TV is the new college radio.

That's true.

Listening (v. casually, at the office) to the new Futureheads disc. So far: Meh. Maybe I'm not giving them enough of a chance, but it seems like they ran out of steam after the debut disc.

Another obscure / under the radar 2008 gem - Murmansk from Helsinki, Finland - discovered via itsatrap blog

Sounding a bit like The Howling Bells

Murmansk

http://www.myspace.com/murmansktheband

Stated Influences: Sonic Youth, Ride, Blonde Redhead, Bauhaus, My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Sleater-Kinney.

album released in Finland April 2008

Murmansk - Chinese Locks

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/s1485638.jpg

Is this one of the defining indie-pop / dreampop albums of 2008?

Hearts by Darts

take a listen to the 6 tracks on myspace, if say stereolab or broadcast released this quality music, pitchfork would be jizzing with best new music status

this band have that something extra, attention to detail, interesting sound arrangements, atmospherics. best track: prime - the spoken word counting on the track half way through is so sublime

what say the indie-pop experts keythkeyth and electricsoundofjim? is this band new to you?

myspace
Hearts by Darts
http://www.myspace.com/heartsbydarts

Hearts by Darts
Hearts by Darts CD
Peapod

http://www.tonevendor.com/item/28930

Influences / For Fans Of: Galaxie 500, Cocteau Twins, Arcade Fire, Beach House, Opal, American Analog Set, Mahogany, etc.

Baltimore's Hearts by Darts started as a recording project by Sei Petersen and Mike Evitts after the demise of their band Sharky. They began crafting songs from the ground up, drawing from a diverse range of influences including 60s soundtrack music, 80s shoegaze, 90s indie rock, and Julee Cruise's lovely Twin Peaks songs. With the addition of Wendy Weihs ́ understated vocal style and intriguing lyrics (often referencing mathematical rules and impossible, far away locales), Hearts by Darts have succeeded in crafting a dream pop landscape that is simultaneously springtime and atmosphere, comforting and strange.

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/s1550526.jpg

"if say stereolab or broadcast released this quality music"

it sounds maybe like an amateurish,dull version of them.

about Murmansk - nothing new. unintersting dream pop stuff that youve heard thousands times before.

i am always wary of anything that tonevendor hypes on their front page.

ill always love the futureheads as a band and their first album but they're very close straight up sucking now

kaputt 'family tree' single on too pure is fantastic!!

the new wolf parade is the first "indie rock" album i've been able to really get into in a while...maybe since the last spoon record.

i like it a lot.

i love it. i believe it has its own thread somewhere where i might have expressed same at greater length. probabaly like it more since though 'cos it's a huge grower.

miles benjamin anthony robinson "buriedfed" ftw

reminds me of when bright eyes was good

reminds me of when bright eyes was good

does. not. compute.

im talking like "lover i don't have to love"

OMG my friend and i were driving in the rain earlier this year and that song started playing on her ipod and we both started singing it out loud. i knew all the words. sometimes i hate myself

sadder is that i also knew all the words to "Let's not shit ourselves"

lover i don't have to love is a classic

let's talk about miles benjamin anthony robinson though

Vivian Girls are pretty fun...

oh great the fifty thousandth band calling themselves the vivian girls

Lately I've heard songs by Peter Bjorn & John and by She & Him that I'm really surprised by how much I like.

PB&J bore me to tears. She & Him are good, tho.

I like that song with the whistling.

"Young Folks" and "The Chills" are the only two PB&J songs that have really stuck with me. I like the idea of them, though. They may make a great LP one day.

Whistling song: Good, albeit slight; v. overexposed.

J0rdan OTM re Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson "Buriedfed" love. I also like "Mountaineerd". There's a couple songs that devolve into annoying, yelpy indie wankery, but the high points are pretty decent.

Also finally got around to this Titus Andronicus record. Liking it lots, especially when they shed the Oberst tendencies in the first half and evolve into something a little more epic.

Whistling song was pretty great and overplayed. Heard a SICK dub remix yesterday on internet radio replacing the whistle with some cool guitarwork.

I also like how no one here except Johnny Fever has the guts to actually say "Young Folks." What will the hipsters think?!

i think that Dutchess and the Duke record will make me happy

I heard a few songs by that Miles Benjamin Anthony fella. It's okay, but not a lot better than okay. I do like it more than Bon Iver, which he's similar to. But then again I hate Bon Iver.

http://www.discogs.com/image/R-1290435-1206828637.jpeg
^^^ this shit is like 10000x better than Ladytron btw

http://www.myspace.com/alicecohen

oops http://cdbaby.name/a/l/alicecohen.jpg

fuck me that's a bad cover

don't you just love it???

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson "Buriedfed" love

I hope you guys will recognize that I'm usually not the sort of person who pulls a bunch of "god why does anyone like this" crap when I say ... umm, I am lost on the love for this one and find it just plain awful. (Sorry. Not trying to be That Guy, but I can't help it.)

Pleased to see someone liking Alice Cohen, though!

heard bon iver as i walked past starbucks today

as for "buriedfed" its kind of bright eyes-y but that's probably why i like it. the production of the vocals is a big part of it, really works with the ramshackle vibe and dude really does sound wreck. still not sure why it transcends for me, but it does

So... anyone know this Benji Hughes character? I am really liking some of what I'm hearing. But his debut is a double disc and it sounds like it might be kinda all over the place. But really I know nothing and have heard very little. Anyone tuned in?

just picked up a single by The Ruling Class. who are the most desperate ripoff of the first stone roses album i've ever heard. and it's not bad at all actually

Thanks for the tip ^^

The myspace clips are very nice.

The Pete & the Pirates debut album Little Death has been growing on me. It's pleasant, punchy power-pop from England. They've got a bit of Franz Ferdinand's ear for a good hook and punkish energy, combined with the wistful earnestness and melodic sense of Camera Obscura - yet they sound quite naturally themselves, not forced or contrived at all. They have kind of a back to basics sound, but all it takes is some great songs (e.g., "She Doesn't Belong to Me" and "Mr. Understanding") and delivery that doesn't hold anything back to make it fresh.

Their Euro2008 song "Come on Feet" is pretty catchy (in a stupid way). I never made it through the entire album but maybe I'll give it a shot now.

Yeah, it's pretty catchy in a dumb way, I guess, like most things that are catchy.

"What They Do for Fun" by The Ropes is my new favorite song. Kind of sounds like Liz Phair singing for a Lush/that dog. hybrid band.

ok so this ruling class single is shameless in its derivativeness but frankly i think this 45 is one of the best things i've heard all year

1989: the most unlikely year to revive of all time?

also: the Arms album on melodic is pretty good - three or so standout tracks (whirring and tiger tamer in partic are killers) but the rest is still pretty decent

Yeah, I'm liking the Arms album quite a bit, especially "Shitty Little Disco" (which I guess is a couple years old, but I never heard it til now).

so should i invest my time on The Week That Was record?

so passion pit are kind of incredible huh

Whoa I just myspaced this and I know one of those dudes.

they're like m83 + hot chip + animal collective i guess? vocals sound kinda like mgmt.

they have one song about being best friends that i love especially

Wow they're opening for Les Savy Fav. I didn't even know LSF was playing and it's yet another October show I would consider seeing.

apparently they've opened for death cab too

so should i invest my time on The Week That Was record?

― Zeno, Thursday, 11 September 2008 07:09 (3 weeks ago) [IP: 79.179.146.92] Bookmark

well, if you're a big field music fan it would appeal but it's not as good as either of the FM albums

i quite like that passion pit ep but 'incredible' is a bit of a stretch

"kind of"!

haha fair enough

just discovered the manhattan love suicides and i rilly rilly dig

exit clov do a nice line in female fronted poppiness.. echoes of that dog, fuzzy..

if you liked Lush in the early 90s...or Throwing Muses circa Real Ramona ...check out Autodrone

Autodrone
http://www.myspace.com/autodrone

Our first Full Legnth CD, Strike a Match will be released on NOVEMBER 11th worldwide via Clairecords.

review: by DOA
Autodrone - Strike A Match
Clairecords
http://www.adequacy.net/review.php?reviewID=8984

jumping ahead to February 2009...for the debut album from:

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
http://www.myspace.com/thepainsofbeingpureatheart

if John Peel was still with us, these lot would be booked in for a Peel session:

About:

If Stephen Pastel actually threw Aggi off the bridge and married Black Tambourine's Pam Berry and had four babies that formed a pop band.

Meet The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, a New York four-piece who plays dreamy, noisy POP with boy/girl vocals, blissful melodies and blistering drums.

i've gone a bit meh on this^ bunch.. i hope their album is not just a longer version of their EP, soundwise