To the Romans, XL means number 40. To consumers, XL means a clothing size, and potentially a diet. To Radiohead, The Raconteurs, and Beck, XL, or more specifically, XL Recordings, means home. To us, XL is just our latest Friday Mixtape, and a good one at that. As always, below you will find the week's best mix of singles, covers, and remixes, along with mp3s from a few artists you might want to check out! NEW Singles: "Demon Eyes" by The Answer "Stumble Out [...]

Darla Farmer are from Nashville, TN, so you would suspect them to be country or alt.country at best. They're not. On their album Rewiring The Electric Forest they come with songs that are best described as brassy party music set to lyrics that bring back the golden age of 19th century bed time stories. Think DeVotchka or Over The Rhine (in a enebriated mood) and that great band from Brasil, Forro In The Dark. There are hints of ska and vaudeville making Darla Farmer a 21st century version of Madness. The lyrics [...]
Hmm, well not sure how far to go with this review, as seems to be the case a lot around here at the moment. There's a lot I could criticise if I were so inclined, but there are some truly excellent songs on this album as well, so I feel compelled to write about it [...]

Darla Farmer is known for their eccentric and experimental sound. Drawing from influences as diverse as Cursive, Blood Brothers, Sublime, and Tom Waits, Darla Farmer brings a fresh and original outlook to music. They incorporate a variety of styles that converge to create an entirely unique, yet universally appealing sound. They released their debut album Rewiring the Electric Forest back in March. We should definitely keep an eye on these guys. Here's some material from their debut record, enjoy: "History" | take it here [...]

Everyday I am fortunate to fall on some really great music. There is so much talent out there and I defintely think this 7 piece has got a lot of guts, a great presence, and some seriously thorough instrumentation all over their tracks. As you can tell by the photo above at one of their shows, they've got some serious wind, strings and the traditional indie rock tools. After hearing the album I can say their song from track to track are really different, well pieced, and some yelling and singing. They got some interesting influences holding them up, with [...]
Fuck me, I'm glad that's over with. Did you find that as dull as I did? Four consecutive posts about major bands on major labels that you could all just as easily have read about in Q Magazine. I even liked the Elbow and REM albums, but I still felt slightly dirty [...]

Myspace // Peasant "The Wind" [mp3] // Darla Farmer "Dirty Keys" [mp3] Paper Garden Records is having its first ever SXSW appearance this year, teaming up with After The Jump and Indie Outlaw to throw the most irresistible party there is at SXSW. With Speakerheart on board as our main sponsor and a great partner for Paper Garden, we have all come together to give you the best musical experience of all! Oh, and I guess [...]
Yesterday I let you guys know about the first After the Jump show going down at SXW now here I bring news of the second! This one might be even better then the first, and it's not just because of the free booze and BBQ though it certainly doesn't hurt! This show is a daytime showcase and is being headlined by the always amazing Cloud Cult!!! As always with SXSW shows, we know you have about a

It's been awhile (since November, actually) but with the glut of decent music coming into the QBiM office lately, I thought it was high time to resurrect this weekly weekend feature. And to make this kick-start even sweeter, here's your chance to win a copy of each of this week's featured CDs! All you have to do is: a) join the Quick Before It Melts Facebook group ; b) write a message on the wall saying you want the four free CDs; and c) sit back and wait. Easy enough? Though so. Don't worry if you don't [...]
EAR FARM's Three for Free: three EF approved, free and legal MP3s posted each week. This week - three from Paper Garden Records . Click on the artist name to go to their site, click on the song name to listen to the song. Listen: Darla Farmer - "Dirty Keys" Eagle*Seagull - "Your Beauty Is A Knife I Turn On My Throat" Peasant - "Exposure"
I covered a good chunk of what's going on this week on my show this past weekend, but a few things have been added to the concert calendar and I thought I'd once again give you a rundown of my day-by-day recommendations. With a few tunes to sample, of course. In my opinion local bands are the hottest in town this week, and if you can only hit one or two of these shows, I would definitely check out the WRVU Benefit with Turncoats and Bad Friend at [...]