I'll admit it. We fell into the same trap that every magazine and blog on the planet did. The self-indulgent, we-know-what-you-should-like-b etter-than-you-do Best Albums of 2010 list. Here at TDOA headquarters, we'd like to think that we've given you some names that weren't familiar and provided you with some surprises. But at the end of the day, who better to assess the state of music than the musicians themselves? So, we reached out to every band that we interviewed in 2010 and asked them to give us their favorite albums of the year. [...]
>> Devotees of lo-fi stalwart Captain Polaroid likely weren't expecting a shimmering shoegaze ballad with a convincingly Death Cab -esque vocal layered over it when they downloaded the Birmingham, England artist's recently issued Beat Nostalgia EP4 . But that's what they got with a newly recorded version of "Jigsaw Of Planet Earth." Add in a spoken vocal track a la Michael Stipe in R.E.M. 's "Belong," and Captain Polaroid has turned out one of his most stirring tracks to date. All the more surprising because Mssr. Polaroid's brand of scrappy, home-recorded guitar pop [...]
Sufjan Stevens Mr Stevens certainly likes to catch us off guard, first off he releases a surprise new EP, then the next thing you know he was giving away free track, 'I Walked', from his forthcoming album 'The Age of Adz'. Well now he's at it again, posting up another free download, 'Too Much', which you can find on his Bandcamp . Summer Camp My hipsters senses aren't what they used to be, until now Summer Camp completely passed me by, it wasn't until I was reading an article about [...]
There's been an interesting discussion over at bandcamp.com on their new policy of limiting free downloads and instituting a "power up" plan to help cover costs. With big artists like Sufjan Stevens and Amanda Palmer using the service and so many smaller artists finding success there, it's inevitable (I think) that changes would be afoot there. Some have taken great offense at having to pony up for the opportunity to offer their fans free downloads. Why pay to give something away? They hold personal convictions against paying for music or against charging for their art. Others have been [...]
Captain Polaroid is a one man lo-fi project from Birmingham. He makes fuzzy, noisy, and surprisingly tender songs. I first encountered him on the Show Me A Word That Rhymes With Pavement compilation earlier on in the year, where he contributed a solid cover of Here . Since then I've got hold of a sampler of his earlier recordings and have been following his current Beat Nostalgia releases, a selection of free EPs over the course of the year. Recently released EP2 may be the strongest effort yet, in no small [...]
Standard Fare I must admit that I had never heard of Standard Fare until I caught them live last month, I had popped along to the Flying Duck to see Kid Canaveral and they were the headline band. Having never heard anything prior to that night, I was completely blown away by the Sheffield three piece. I left that night clutching their debut album 'The Noyelle Beat'. The next morning I arose from my pit to find it in my jacket pocket, I ad no recollection of buying it, but I was chuffed that I did. It's one [...]
I vividly remember when Guided By Voices became a media darling with the alternative music press. Robert Pollard gave endless interviews where he was asked to explain why everything was recorded "lo-fi", why he was so prolific and how he was able to consistently write brilliant melodies. I had a flashback as I heard the brilliantly named, Captain Polaroid and the Betamax Conspiracy. A solo artist, haling from Birmingham, England armed with a four-track and the keys to your heart. @aemccarthy does the honors. The Same [...]
>> [ IMAGE CREDIT: VictorianWeb.org ] Birmingham, England-based lo-fi stalwart Captain Polaroid Sunday put the finishing touches on his tribute to Mark Linkous, in the form of a cover of Sparklehorse 's wonderful, poignant "Ghost Of His Smile." As this is our favorite Sparklehorse song, we jumped at the chance to offer the track, and were pleased when Mr. Polaroid gave his assent. And so we offer below Captain Polaroid 's spot-on take on this wonderful track. Mr. Linkous took his own life March 6; he was 47. Read Ben Sisario's memoriam [...]
I was introduced to the Filthy Little Angels independent label, based in Nelson, UK and which has recently celebrated its 5th anniversary, through the fabulous Captain Polaroid who is part of it (check out the Point and Click EP for free download ; previously featured here in Issue #20 : "It's easy to hear a true enjoyment of the creation of music itself here, from the seamless flow through musical styles to the quirky, lo-fi sound overall." ), yet another fortuitous meeting via the Manic Street Preachers-fanworld I've been enveloped in [...]
Isn't it amazing how time flies when you're having fun. The Devil's favourite independent label Filthy Little Angels, a label that shares the Devil's commitment to unearthing unknown, unheard, unseen, unheralded, unfamiliar or downright unbelievable bands new or old, is five year old! Five years of independence, five years of eclecticism, an average of twenty releases each year, five years of brilliance. To celebrate their fifth birthday the brains behind the label, Woon and Missy and the excellent Captain Polaroid (CP) took time out from opening the presents and stuffing their faces with jelly and [...]
Another Friday, another fresh round of independent talent! See also back issues in our continuing series , and as always, feel free to recommend your favorite indie artists in the comments. Captain Polaroid - Alternative / Indie / Pop - Midlands, UK Captain Polaroid is one of the many fine folks I've encountered because of the Manic Street Preachers forum Forever Delayed . While that band's presence and that of his other influences, including Pavement, McCarthy, R.E.M., and The Wedding Present, can be felt, the Captain is [...]
1. Courtesy of Passion of the Weiss courtesy of Nah Righ t . . . . . . A totally rad remix of The Chef's Cuban Lynx Era vocals over extremely cool beats. I'm not usually a big fan of blends and reworkings, but this one is spot on. Link . 2. And in other hip hop news, new Felt and Slug of Atmosphere. 3. Union City Blue (Blondie cover)-Captain Polaroid . One of my all time favorite songs ever.
Captain Polaroid Genre: Alternative / Indie / Pop From: Birmingham, Midlands United Kingdom Brummy Captain Polaroid is a one man band, not the harmonica, guitar and cymbals on his knees type one man band, but a fizzing one man indie band who sets his fi down lo and his fuzz up high. It's kinda like Bright Eyes being fed through a distortion pedal The Captain's [...]
This coming weekend one of the many famous Man City fans... No, the other one. Not him either... ...now you are just taking the piss. I mean the boxing one: Ricky Hatton (nickname: The Hitman) will be fighting Manny Pacquiao (nickname: Pacman) in Las Vegas . [...]
Birmimgham's Captain Polaroid has always been a reliable source of good lo-fi pop songs, and this week he put out a great new EP called In Miracle World on the Filthy Little Angles label. There are some wonderful fuzzy guitars on this EP, and they sit along side brittle vocals which sing about satire and awkwardness in social situations. He certainly manages to capture the sound some of the influences he cites such as Urusai Yatsura and The Wedding Present but manages to mash them all up to make his own musical [...]
LO-FI is good. Lo-fi is my friend. Guided By Voices, Half Japanese, Sebadoh. Sparklehorse when he's not being boring. Yes please. Captain Polaroid can join the list, because his new LP is one of the best and most addictive lo-fi recordings i've heard in quite a while. Mr Polaroid is indeed a one man band, recording what sounds like (and I hope genuinely is!) some good old fashioned four track indie rock, with the requisite fuzz, passion and intrigue. The thing about lo-fi of course is that it's generally quite unforgiving; if you can't hear the vocals or [...]
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