Chris Chu of Morning Benders describes this special recording of "Excuses" as a "Wall-of-Sound, Phil Spector kind of vibe." Chu got together his musician friends from around the Bay Area and filled the room with love. It turned out a product that will add some snuggle glory to your chilly February evenings.

Tweet January has come and gone. In some parts of the world Lana Del Rey 's "Born To Die" has already been released to mixed reviews, nowhere near making as big a splash as was anticipated by some. I've given it a listen, it's fine, but, as I expected, nothing remarkable. In not-LDR-related news, there have been plenty of good releases so far in this past month, with Cloud Nothings [...]

Sitting through commercials is usually a pretty miserable experience. It feels like little sections of your life getting eaten up, 30 seconds at a time. Even the ones with good, home-made jingles are fun for a while but become increasingly annoying with each listen. Right when your favorite show reaches its most engaging point, you're left hanging and a flood of obnoxious advertisements rushes in, trying to tactfully convince you to spend money or to remember their convenient phone number so when you do finally decide that you need an injury lawyer or a gym membership, you'll know [...]
Download link is in the original post Sounds like: The Morning Benders, Real Estate Song: Etta James - I'd Rather Go Blind (Portugal. The Man Cover) [download here ] [...]
The Explorers Club unveil the lead single off their upcoming full-length Grand Hotel, which already sounds like one of 2012's best. Stream it inside

<!-- --> Click here for download Sounds like: The Morning Benders, the Drums, Beach Fossils, Beach Boys Song: SURES - Poseidon [download here ] What's so good? For a virtually unknown young band, Sydney's SURES have a big year ahead of them if the start of 2012 is anything to go by. [...]

Hi frenz, I have a new Winnie mix to share. xox ☮ ☯ ☢ ✔ ➝ Slow Your Roll :: mixed by Tristan Orchard Mr Little Jeans - The Suburbs (Arcade Fire Cover) Jai Paul - BTSTU (Edit) ASAP Rocky - Get Lit (feat. Fat Tony) ::M?DE::IN::HEIGHTS:: - Wildflowers (Exhale Efreet) Fred Falke - 808 Pm at the Beach MartyParty - Mystery Dot Mutt - Kush Talk Neon Indian - Polish Girl White Town - Your Woman (The White Panda [...]

Love 'em or hate 'em, indie cover songs are a craze that never ceases. With 2011 kicking ass in the reproduced tunage department, I gotta say it was pretty challenging selecting only ten songs for this year's playlist. In terms of high-quality, fresh versions that delighted my ears upon listening, here is a list of 10 gems from 2011 that I believe epitomize remakes at their finest. Enjoy! The Smiths Song: There Is A Light That Never Goes [...]

Shout outs to our Cali homies Tribe Of Zebras who have been releasing some heat as of late. Winnie says they are going to be a big deal. I love how they're using this picture at Lighthouse Park from their Vancouver trip in their promo. It appears we have to have them back soon. Check out some remixes, originals, and a new mix for the kids. The Morning Benders - Excuses (Tribe Of Zebras Remix) Adele - Someone Like You (Tribe Of Zebras Remix) [...]
Around a month ago, I was told The Explorers Club would be releasing their first new material in over four years. Freedom Wind, their 2008 debut, has been a personal favorite of mine since its release, and I assumed the band had split after years of inactivity. So when frontman Jason Brewer e-mailed me last
Swells are a quartet residing in San Francisco. Their self-titled debut EP is a collection of laid-back indie-rock with relaxing West Coast vibes akin to The Morning Benders and Surfer Blood. The EP is packed with four varied and exciting songs that should appeal to most rock fans, especially if they're fans of The Walkmen
Many of us have a sweet spot for The Beach Boys, or most Brian Wilson recordings for that matter. While their early – and generally most popular – hits are not to be overlooked, the greatness of the group fully emerged with the 1965 release of Today!. This classic marks the beautiful crevice between early [...]
Last night I was treated to a slide show (see video above) by the one, the only Alex Roger Greenburg . His photographs are awesome and the slide show experience will leave your brain tingling. Strap on your headphones, turn the volume up and widescreen the video. You won't regret it. The Morning Benders - "Cold War" (Star Slingers Remix) — Basil

Chris Taylor is certainly a busy man. A member of esteemed harmonic band Grizzly Bear , Chris is also a cofounder of Terrible Records , home of hip acts such as Twin Shadow and Class Actress. Chris also produced the epic Morning Benders album Big Echo . If that doesn't sound like a boat load, Chris now has a solo project - CANT. I heard he also spends time fixing the economy and feeding homeless people in soup kitchens on the weekend. Let's get back to CANT for a moment. Effectively known as [...]
![YAWN – Open Season [Album + Tour]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/3787800_lg.jpg)
The four handsome young men pictured above are YAWN . They are a band from Chicago and thankfully, their music is nothing like their bitter winters, nor does it make you yawn. Instead, think of an electronically intensified version of The Morning Benders . With solid fundamentals of an indie rock band, these guys amp it with a layer of Yeasayer and spice it with The Unicorns . YAWN's album, Open Season , is a total catch. It's hard for me to pick a favorite since each track is endlessly [...]
Hailing from Chicago, Santah put catchy, no-frills alternative rock back on the main stage. The five-piece fuse the ambition of all members into a cohesive and successful album, White Noise Bed – a group courtesy of GroopEase, who recently offered their full-length for $3 – a $6 discount. Fans of The Walkmen, The Veils, and [...]

Welcome back to this weeks edition of the Indie Sabbath your Earmilk source for the freshest indie music from rock to folk and beyond. I hope your back-to-school/work/living the dream blues aren't too severe, but if they are this week's selection of always awesome indie music should brighten your life up just a bit! As we enter the season of new releases, even indie bands and musicians hope to thrive from the anticipated holiday rush. Lucky for us this means a whole slew of exciting new music to sift through. Now undoubtedly there will [...]

The Blogophilia repost project continues... We've been busy with a lot of good submissions, and that's a good thing. It's time to take a breather. Today, we move forward with our goal of re-posting past volumes of Blogophilia due to demand. Remember, we're doing this all the way to volume 22, and then phhffttt! We're stopping there. Volumes 23-28 are currently active (zip format only for volumes 23-27), and we're making re-posted volumes available for about a week. Get 'em while you can. Blogophilia 15 [...]
"Tiny Fingers" is lush and exotic, with sounds of broken sitars, brass, and wind chimes backing a gentle acoustic strum. Like everything on Red Velvet Snow Ball, it would be the perfect accompaniment to a day of greenery – lying in the green grass, staring at the green trees swaying above you, and perhaps indulging in something that would make the sky appear green.

The instant appeal of Youth Cattle (not pictured) is the sense that all their cards are on the table. They aren't the next gods of rock and roll. They aren't idols. They aren't the musical geniuses of the surf pop or l o-fi genres. They are just another Southern California band with simple songs about life's highs and lows. But the more you listen to their demo tracks, the more you start to question whether calling them "just another" anything suffices. For those of us with any knowledge of Cali's music demographics, [...]