M. Ward has a new song and a new album out called A Wasteland Companion , which you can grab right over at the awesome Merge Records . Here's a little blurb about the awesomeness: The album, consisting of 12 stunning tracks, was made with 18 musicians and recorded in eight different studios in Portland, Omaha, New York City, Los Angeles, Austin and Bristol (UK). Ward's honey-soaked vocals, deft finger-picking, innate sense of melody and beguiling lyrics have already cemented his reputation as one of America's true [...]
As 2011 comes to an end, we are taking a look back at some of our favorite posts of the year by our guest editors. Bird Of Youth has no business being this good. Really. If writing and recording a really beautiful album was as easy as Beth Wawerna and her crew made it look, [...]

words by Christopher Paragraph , photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin DOWNLOAD: Bird of Youth - Bombs Away, She Is Here to Stay (MP3) Sondre Lerche looking sexy as usual @ MHOW Friday night The Friday night show at Music Hall of Williamsburg featured three very different songwriters who all happen to live within a few blocks of the venue. The same is true for [...]
Engine Room Records has released the third volume in their series of indie bands covering guilty pleasure tunes, and this time they're all taking on hair metal classics. How does it fare? Very, very well.

Brooklyn band Bird of Youth revamped the 1984 classic song "Self Control" as a dreamy ballad. The song was originally written and performed by Irish/Italian 80s pop queen Laura Branigan. Download the remake after the jump. Bird of Youth's debut album Defender is out now. Read more » http://rpc.blogcatalog.com/ http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ ping

Remember the Irish/Italian 80s pop queen Laura Branigan ? Well if you don't by name, you've almost certainly heard the song Self Control - notorious at the time for a scandalous video. Brooklyn band Bird of Youth had some fun in the studio and revamped the 1984 classic as a dreamy ballad. Have a listen. Download Bird Of Youth - Self Control mp3 (Laura Branigan cover) Follow @madmackerel
For the past 13 years, the Truck Festival has been the UK's low-key alternative to conglomerates like Glastonbury, and with the United State's own festival scene close to reaching over saturation , the American version of Truck seeks to do the same. The second installment of Truck America is being held from September 9-11 at the Big Indian campground just two-and-half-hours north of New York City, and the lineup for this year's shindig looks quite different from most other major U.S. fests. Headlining the festivities are The [...]
[ download ] [tweetmeme] After yesterday's feature on Radical Dads and today's spotlighted track by Bird of Youth , you could be forgiven for thinking there is a wave of nostalgia sweeping through your ragtag bunch of writers here at OTM. As with Radical Dads, Bird of Youth is a female-fronted Brooklyn trio who drink from the reservoir of mid-1990s college rock radio. However, where Radical Dads prefer the canons of acts like Pavement and Sonic Youth, this Bird of Youth track finds kindred [...]

Frank Yang Okkervil River are probably pretty comfortable at the Phoenix now, this past Friday marking the band's third straight show at the Toronto venue. But each visit was in a slightly different context - Spring 2008 as support for The New Pornographers , that same October marking their first swing at headlining the 1000-capacity room - and this show would be the gauge as to whether they had outgrown that scale venue and would be moving onto bigger stages. And indeed, the did sell it out but [...]
A few recent and recentish finds/loves:The Golden Dogs - Cheap Umbrellas mp3 - from Coat of Arms - MySpace - Thanks to Indie Rock Cafe, which has one more here.The Rassle - Celebrate The Days mp3 - from The Rassle EP - MySpace - Get the free EP here.Western Civ - My Valuable Hunting Knife mp3 - from Sing For Your Meat: A Tribute to Guided By Voices - MySpace - Thanks to Team Clermont.Skull Tape -
Big releases this week include Thurston Moore's newest LP, rising band Foster The People's debut, British punkabilly artist Art Brut's latest album, plus new tracks from new albums by Friendly Fires, Yourself and the Air, Bird Call, Devil The Whale, Cold Showers, Boris, David Bazan and others. "Benediction" - Thurston Moore from Demolished Thoughts "Pumped [...] Read more, get songs or stream the entire mix on Indie Rock Cafe

The influx of women in rock, especially within the independent circles of recent years, has been well-documented. As has the rise of southern fragmented singer songwriters—some of my colleagues like to refer to it as "alt." Yet there has been a notable lapse when it comes to a crossover of the two, and despite a few exceptions, the singer songwriter landscape is still a male-dominated terrain. Don't worry, I'm not going to turn this into some sort of pseudo-fem diatribe,...
Here are The Wheel's Still In Spin's suggested new releases for this week. David Bazan – Strange Negotiations. Download "Wolves at the Door" (mp3). The frontman of Pedro the Lion is back with a new album. Recorded as a trio with his touring band, Bazan's latest solo album features melodic songs that will please any Pedro the Lion fan. Thurston Moore – Demolished Thoughts. Download "Benediction" (mp3). Download "Circulation" (mp3). Demolished Thoughts is Thurston Moore's latest solo effort. Produced by Beck, the Sonic Youth guitarist creates a lush palette of tones [...]

Here is PA, we have been bombarded by cloudy skies and rain showers for what seems like forever. This song from Bird Of Youth seems to compliment the current climate. Their debut album (produced by Will "Mr. Okkervill River Himself" Seff and features members of The Wrens, Nada Surf and The National) comes out Tuesday. Listen: Bird Of Youth ∞ Bombs Away, She Is Here To Stay Watch: Bird Of Youth - One Hand Able from johnny north on [...]
Bird of Youth - Brooklyn's Beth Wawerna is the designated driver of this slightly ramshackle but fuel efficient vehicle for her stark, rock-edged indie pop songs...almost three years in the making, the debut was produced by Will Sheff of Okkervil River and Phil Palazzolo (The New Pornographers, Neko Case) with members of The Wrens, Nada Surf, The National and Okkervil River as featured players... Release : Defender (May 24) // Sounds like : Wawerna takes some stylistic cues from The Pretenders' Chrissi Hynde with crisp, jangling guitars, dry vocal delivery and brisk rhythmic wallop [...]
Defender (produced by Will Sheff & Phil Palazzolo) will see daylight on 5/24. Like Bird Of Youth on Facebook. Follow Bird Of Youth on Twitter. Visit Bird Of Youth at their official site. Catch Bird Of Youth @ Brooklyn's Rock Shop on 6/9. Click here to view the embedded video. MP3: Bird Of Youth - Bombs Away, She Is Here To Stay
Every day, Daily Downloads offers 10 free and legal mp3 downloads, plus free and legal live sets from around the internet. Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: Bird of Youth : "She Is Here to Stay" [mp3] from Defender (out May 24th) search for more Bird of Youth posts at Largehearted Boy Breathe Owl Breathe [...]

ARTIST: The SWAG Report 46 with freebie mp3 downloads for songs by Bird Of Youth, Meat Puppets, Urge Overkill, Family Of The Year, The Raveonettes, The Postelles, The Klaxons, The Effort, Set Your Goals, Northcote, Outrage, Hostage Calm, Eisley and more! So much more! DATE: 03-10-11 WRITER: Don Loder Congratulations junky, I didn't know you was gettin' married! Oh whazzat? Yer not? Christ on a rubber crutch, yed think you were wit' the primo bag o' gifts I got 'ere. This [...]
Video: Bird Of Youth - The Great Defender