If you have been following the Best Songs of 2011 series, you know that we are in the midst of creating a total of 12 volumes of the best songs of 2011 - one for each month of the year. Unlike most 'best songs' lists, we are creating each volume chronologically by the month in [...] Read more, get songs or stream the entire mix on Indie Rock Cafe
2011 was (another) odd year for music. It felt like the average quality of albums was raised a bit, but nothing really stood out as a life-changing album or single of the year. Still, there was a lot of great music to be heard. Here's fifty of my favorite tracks from the year, ranging from [...]
With lots of hapiness, we bring you today Model Son , from the new e.p. Oui Camera Oui by the Oakland based The Heavenly States. The latest release from Oakland's The Heavenly States, Oui Camera Oui is a dose of punk rock intensity, met with killer melodies, and intricate arrangements. The record features special guests Britt Daniel (of Spoon), and comic Eugene Mirman. With a sound, attitude, and point of view previously likened by reviewers and critics to Dinosaur, Jr., Pavement, The Clash, Talking Heads [...]
Ladies and gentlemen! We're back with another Snob Theater ! We'll be showcasing the best in Bay Area based music and stand-up comedy tonight at The Dark Room Theater! In case you're not familiar with the show; Snob Theater is a one of a kind show that combines performances by today's best in indie rock with equally feted stand-up comedians. Originating at San Francisco's Dark Room Theater, Snob Theater creates a magnet for smart and entertaining performances and provides a unique and exciting atmosphere for the lucky audience. Produced and hosted by comedian/music blogger Shawn Robbins, Snob [...]
Given the volume of music available for consideration on One Track Mind, we invariably have to pass on a lot of tasty morsels. [tweetmeme] In a desire to share even more great, free music with you, the Sunday Sampler offers a handful of tracks without the usual critical and biographical write-up. Less talk, more tunes. Dynamite Walls "Blood on My Hands" from Chemicals [ release date TBD | indie rock ] [ download ] [...]
Raise your right hand in the air, put your left hand over your heart and repeat after me: "I love Indie Rock." If Indie Rock (particularly new Indie Rock) is something that truly tickles your pickle, then your boy Ronnie has a present for you that is delivered on a weekly basis. Every Saturday I am going to come forth with a mix of deliciously stimulating songs from the Indie Music gift basket that are sure to leave you peachier than the state of Georgia. Stream: "Box Of Stones" while reading. [...]
I rap. I write. I make playlists that are tight. Yeah right? Know my type. Dude in the car talking louder than the music, cause I'm that rude critic. Well, wait-here's an outtake of tracks I dare to interact, matter of fact, I just sit back and listen-so enjoy. Tracklist Silver Swans: "Secrets" The charismatic Ann Yu of LoveLikeFire who we interviewed last year has started a side project called The Silver Swans. The Phantogram-esque duo, combine Ann's dreamy, just-awoken vocals with heavy synths. [...]
If I didn't know any better, I'd guess this was a brand new Modest Mouse single. But I know for a fact they are far too busy, making an album with Big Boi , to be working on anything of their own. In fact, it's The Heavenly States , who have clearly kidnapped their sound and refuse to give it back. Perhaps, folk-rock isn't dead after all? Purchase the brand new album, Oui Camera Oui on iTunes The Heavenly States - Model Son.mp3
For a second it seems Heavenly States' "Berlin Wall" is only as good as it seems because of the borrowed pipes of none other than Britt Daniel. But the triumphant close washes away that sentiment just as forcefully as it does the simple fingerpicked intro, with drums explosive enough to tear down that wall itself. The rest of Oui Camera Ou falls short of this EP's highlight, although the comic closer "Careful With That Review, Eugene" gives it all a new perspective. Enlisting Eugene Mirman of Flight of the Concords fame, some of the bands most [...]
Paste Magazine is streaming Brandi's new live album, Live at Benaroya Hall With The Seattle Symphony , all week leading up to its release on Tuesday, May 3rd. You can listen to it here or order it here. The record will be available everywhere on Tuesday. As well, that day, May 3rd, Seattle-area fans will have a few opportunities to see and hear Brandi live in her hometown! You can hear the entire album today, via PASTE magazine below: [...]
The Heavenly States' excellent new EP, Oui Camera Oui , received a bit of a boost when Spoon frontman Britt Daniel agreed to contribute vocals to the track "Berlin Wall." Daniel, a champion of the Bay area band, previously had the Heavenly States open for Spoon during a three-night stint at the Fillmore and proclaimed their 2010 LP Delayer one of his favorite records of the year. After the jump, check out Kristoffer West Johnson's animated video for "Berlin Wall"—which stars an egg-shaped Humpty Dumpty-looking character with Daniel's voice. You can also nab the [...]
THE HEAVENLY STATES(Indie Rock)If the name of this band alone doesn't put you in a happy place, wait until you hear the music. The Heavenly States, hailing from, you guessed it: Owatonna, Minnesota, have a sound that puts me at ease and hopefully they will do the same for you. They just released a new 7-song EP on April 19th called Oui Camera Oui and it happens to include my first feature for
Together since 2002, The Heavenly States dropped a wonderful new EP, Oui Camera Oui, on April 19th via Hippies Are Dead Records . An excerpt from their website - "Songs like Model Son and Monster capture the band's very essence, an eclectic, multi-faceted approach easily identified by Nesseth and Gagon's bifurcated harmonies, crafty melodic structures, and a satisfying sense of musical motion marked by wit, intensity, and endless possibility." With Spoon's Britt Daniel lending vocals on [...]
featurings the SPOONS ' BRITT DANIEL on vox, the THE HEAVENLY STATES have unleashed their expertly animated new BERLIN WALL video which we've emphatically watched four times already. and it's a few mins after 7AM local time and we've still not got to bed. damn.you.jetlag. wotyougot
Video: Heavenly States (Ft. Spoon's Britt Daniel) - "Berlin Wall" Spoon frontman Britt Daniel has been raving about The Heavenly States' LP Delayer for years, featuring the Oakland, California outfit's 2008 effort on his best-of list that year and inviting the band to open for Spoon on a string of tour dates. Following one of their shared bills in San Francisco, singer Ted Nesseth invited Daniel to appear on the band's next release, what would become their Oui Camera Oui EP, which was released this week. Daniel agreed, and now [...]
Music Videos: Idiot Glee – "Let's Get Down Together" - A Cluster 1 Premier! Some trippy kaleidoscope imagery complete with dark overtones….your computer's music visualizer can suck it. British Sea Power – "Who's in Control" ( For No One ) - Daniel Ryan's incredibly rare and intimate video series continues. If you recall, Ryan takes some of the industry's most popular indie acts and has them play in a live setting of no one. It's raw, it's visceral, it's on Cluster 1. Alcoholic Faith Mission [...]
Filed under: Video of the Day Artist: The Heavenly States Feat. Britt Daniel Video: 'Berlin Wall' Highlight: "We love what Minneapolis artist Kristoffer West Johnson did with 'Berlin Wall,'" the Heavenly States' Genevieve Gagon tells Spinner. "We've worked with him before and he's a real mind-reader, an amazing artist. The Humpty Dumpty character as sung by Britt Daniel of Spoon has this schoolhouse rock quality that turns the song into an ominous lesson. Kris really got it right [...]
Tweet The mutual respect between the Heavenly States and indie rock heavy-hitters Spoon is not a new development. The Heavenly States opened for the band during Spoon's 3-night residency at the Fillmore back in 2008 , when Britt Daniel made sure to inform the Fillmore audiences how much he enjoyed the Heavenly States' Delayer . In fact, I distinctly recall Britt saying during one of the shows that Spoon hand-picked the local band to open because Delayer was "one of [...]
Tweet Mixtape: Only the East Bay (Podcast #247) This podcast episode is part mixtape and part mea culpa. Even though our name is The Bay Bridged, we periodically get people calling us out on our SF-centric coverage of Bay Area indie music. In recognition of all of the great music coming from the other side of the Bay, this mix features only East Bay artists-15 of them-spanning a wide variety of styles and sounds. The collection shows that, just like in SF, [...]
It's hard to believe The Heavenly States have been around for nearly a decade. One would think that with all the energy they put into their catchy, hook-laden rock songs, and to touring behind those tunes, that the band's engine would've run out of steam. But "Model Son," the first single off the band's most [...]
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