Little Teeth are Dannie Murrie (Vox, Mandolin, Guitar, Accordian), Ammo Eisu (Vox, Drums, Cello, Violin) and Andy Tisdall (Vox, Bass, Banjo, Electronics). Little Teeth is the union of three strange souls, whose mystical convergence has bred their only faith. It started in the suburbs of Stockton, CA 1982; Dannie Murrie is born. Being the daughter of a singer/composer/pianist and accordion player, she was taught from a very young age to fire back at life's blows with the cannon of her voice. In a search for feminist rocker chicks, she began posting Craig's List ads in the Women [...]
Loxsly features Cody Grounds, guitarists Garrett Johnston and Justin Douglas, bassist Eryk Lugo, and drummer John Kelley. It began as a solo project in 2003, with one person working a synthesizer, samples and literally anything else that sounded like a good idea at the time. Now, the band Loxsly is five members strong and takes its pop compositions into several different directions. There is an abundance of highly-charged rhythm and contagious melodies on their album, Maps and Organs, accompanied perfectly by singer and band founder Cody Grounds unique vocals. The happy, shiny-sounding atmosphere created by much of [...]
In the early months of 2006 Embarrassing Fruits began playing stripped down, song-based music in an unheated living room in Greensboro, NC. Swilling cans of PBR, listening to early 90's indie-rock and eating spicy foods helped fuel the band early on, setting the groundwork for honest, unpolished and unpretentious indie rock that recalls what the genre was about in the first place. After moving back to Chapel Hill, NC, Lee Shaw, a talented songwriter in his own right, joined the band on bass in early 2008. Joe Norkus, Lee Shaw, and John Neville now make up "The Fruits." [...]
Boy Genius is an indie rock quartet originating from Brooklyn. The band members are two guys, Jason Korenkiewicz (vocals, guitar, harmonica) and Jeffrey Mensch (bass, acoustic guitar, backing vocals)] and two ladies, Lisa Klimkiewicz (drums, melodica, backing vocals) and Marisa Cerio (guitar, backing vocals) (the latter of whom replaced recording guitarist Christopher Amann). Boy Genius has been often compared to bands like Pavement, the Feelies, the Go Betweens and Reckoning-era R.E.M. They released their debut EP last year, Eureka, and it was met with universal acclaim. Their debut LP, Anchorage , was recorded at [...]
South Sweden, early -00. Fredrik, Claes, Per , David and Markus put the band together. 2 month later they named the band Esther , from a book called "never forget about esther", or was it from that women in the hebrew bible? You´ll never know. Like every band at this stage,(except the lucky ones) esther did some shows at their own school and at the local youth recreation centre. After a couple of years things ended up well for the band. They were playing in swedish television, live on the radio and a lot of liveshows around [...]
Named after a rare TV comedy skit reference, King of Spain is Matt Slate, former guitarist for 90's emo-darlings Pohgoh and The Maccabees (both out of Tampa, FL). Here's how he feels about his first solo outing: "…at 31, I started writing songs again. Now, it's enough time where I'm not just the guy from Pohgoh or the guy from The Maccabees… it's quite different, a whole new resurgence." In 2006, after a 5 year hiatus from making, writing and/or performing music of any kind, Slate decided to take matters into his own hands, literally. He purchased a [...]
Damien Jurado first appeared in the Christian hardcore group Coolidge, a band also featuring future Pedro the Lion member David Bazan on drums. In 1996 they were featured on the Tooth & Nail compilation I'm Your Biggest Fan Vol. 1 with the track "Trapped". The group later went on to release a 4 song EP that was released on Radio Recordings. Jurado's solo career began during the mid-1990s, with him releasing lo-fi folk based recordings on his own cassette-only label, Casa Recordings. Gaining a local cult following in Seattle, he was brought to the attention of Sub [...]
Few producers in modern day hip hop respect the art of sampling quite like Canadian beatsmith Factor . Whether he's reworking dusty Canadian folk tunes or hidden funk anthems, Factor thrives on creating diverse, drum heavy, and wonderfully catchy beats. Over the last 10 years Factor has built a reputation as being one of the most prolific and consistent producers in independent hip hop. He has laced tracks for a veritable who's- who list of West Coast underground rappers including members of The Shapeshifters, Living Legends, Swollen Members, Freestyle Fellowship, Project Blowed and others. In Canada Factor has helped [...]
Daniel Ahearn is a singer and songwriter living in LA. He is the creative center of folktronica pioneers Ill Lit. His first solo effort, Pray for me by name has been highlighted on iTunes and by taste-makers KCRW in Los Angeles. Daniel Ahearn, releases his solo EP, Pray For Me By Name, at 18. June on Riparian Records. Late in 2007, Daniel was robbed. His electronics, his boom box, keyboards, and pedals—all stolen. All the songs on his new EP, Pray For Me By Name, were written to be songs that Daniel felt like he could [...]
Zita Swoon surprised and impressed the world with the splendid ´A Song About A Girls´ album, and received some extra admiration after the amazing ´Camera Concert: A Band In A Box´ CD/DVD. This unique acoustic live concept of ´Band In A Box´ touched thousands of people on concerts everywhere in Europe, and was a true inspiration for the band. On an artistic level, the extensive touring brought the band members closer together. This re-discovered pleasure of performing together is a central piece on the 2007 album ´Big City´ . Most of the songs on [...]
A mid-tempo approach to their start-stop motions of experimental post-punk and folky undertones are what Earlimart became known for in their native Los Angeles. Named after a small town located between their hometown and Fresno, California, Earlimart's unconventional songwriting structure resulted in many comparisons to The Pixies, Sonic Youth, X and Sparklehorse. This attention resulted in a deal with Devil In The Woods Records, who eventually released their debut albums Filthy Doorways Kingdom of Champions in the winter of 2000. The Avenues EP appeared three years later, while also introducing Aaron Espinoza on vocals [...]
Marching Band (formerly known as Second Language) is Erik Sunbring and Jacob Lind. They live together and make life hard for their other flatmates by creating music at inappropriate hours. Two bikes, one laptop, three microphones and a shameless use of other peoples instruments is the recipe for a Marching Band recording. They have been writing songs together for 1.5 years now, and it is getting better and better. Their music is dynamic, hum-worthy and witty. Lately the songs tend to go in unexpected directions. If their songs puts a smile on your face and makes your life a [...]
Vanilla Swingers exist in a lineage of sophisticated, imaginative and slightly leftfield British pop music that has been overly neglected for about fifteen years in favour of dumbed-down alternatives. Think Pet Shop Boys, ABC, and The The; literate, eclectic, auteur-ish popstars, slick and professional. Probably their closest contemporary reference point, if you're desperate for one, is Stephen Merritt's Magnetic Fields. Other named influences include Blonde Redhead and the book Straw Dogs by John Gray. Their eponymous debut album is a concept affair about two people who meet, run away together, go back in time, lose each other, [...]
Allen Orr and Ashley Proffitt met in the fall of 2000 in Atlanta and instantly became fans of each other's music. Allen was in the band Igloo and Ashley was playing quiet solo shows. Over the next seven years the two of them each moved several times to different cities and countries, only to reconnect in New York. Allen had a bunch of songs, Ashley had a Wurlitzer and one thing led to another. On September 15th of 2007, Allen and Ashley met in a rehearsal space in the Lower East Side, exactly seven years to the day [...]
The Stills formed in Montreal in 2000, and shortly thereafter relocated to New York as one of the first signings to Vice Recordings. The band rose to prominence in 2004 with the release of their debut album, Logic Will Break Your Heart , which spawned the hit singles "Still in Love Song" and "Lola Stars and Stripes". Oceans Will Rise , the band's third album and first for Arts & Crafts, is set for official release throughout North America August 19, 2008. Recorded and produced once again by [...]
The seeds of Passenger were sown when Uni drop-out turned troubadour Rosenberg bumped in to Bafta award-winning film and TV soundtrack composer Andrew Phillips at a Free Burma event in London, featuring the likes of Faithless, Travis and Horace Andy. Rosenberg had blagged a one-song solo slot and Phillips was performing with the band Slovo. "Andrew and I met backstage, starting chatting about music and football and hit it off straight away," recalls Rosenberg. "He had just moved to Brighton and set up his own studio, so a few months later, we met up to try writing together." [...]
Equally indebted to the Shins, Brian Wilson, and John Lennon, the Morning Benders mix sunny pop songcraft with jangling guitars, double-tracked vocals, and collegiate wit. Frontman Chris Chu launched the group as a solo project in 2005, using a single microphone and laptop to record his early songs. The Loose Change EP arrived in September 2006, and Chu subsequently opened the Benders' doors to several of his UC Berkeley classmates, including drummer Julian Harmon, bassist Tim Or, and guitarist/organist Joe Ferrell. A second EP, Boarded Doors, appeared in early 2007 and was well received by such Bay Area [...]
In the heart of Canada's largest city, Forest City Lovers — Kat Burns (vocals/guitar/piano), Kyle Donnelly (bass/guitar/vocals), Mika Posen (violin/piano/vocals) and a string of drummers — have strived to tame the urban wilderness and add some melody to the chaos. Forest City Lovers , burst onto Toronto's music scene with the release of their 2006 album, The Sun and the Wind. Released independently with the help of some talented friends, The Sun and the Wind a ten song journey through landscapes of cities and summer days, was a breath of fresh air and exposed the talent [...]
After gaining a devoted underground following due to the success of their sold-out, limited-edition EPs, Meho Plaza is set to bring their experimental, herky-jerky, synth-driven pop to Better Looking Records (The Electric Soft Parade, Tristeza, The Jealous Sound, etc). With hypnotic, angular guitar riffs competing against fuzzy, warm casios, their first self-titled full-length album is often simultaneously reminiscent of Brainiac and early Sonic Youth. Meho Plaza consists of keyboardist, Jennifer Hwang, singer/guitarist Mike Thrasher and drummer James Connelly. Their stripped down live performance has earned them significant critical praise; The Los Angeles Times has [...]
Chicago quintet Bound Stems are set to release their sophomore full-length, The Family Afloat, September 9th on Flameshovel. Bound Stems struck a distinctive chord with their '05 debut ep, The Logic of Building the Body Plan, quickly garnering attention from the media and following with the expansive, eclectic, '06 full-length, Appreciation Night, that received laurels from Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Alternative Press, URB, Chicago Tribune and Reader. The album incorporated elements of the band's home town, found sounds helping to shape the feel and texture of the songs, that were explosive pop celebrations, swept off into [...]
Indie Surfer Blog
The Rains of Castamere by The National
Sleigh Bells - Demons (Official Music Video)
A-Trak & Dillon Francis - "Money Makin'" (Official Video)
DIIV "How Long Have You Known?" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
Nas - Daughters
Check Out: d’Eon – “Transparency pt. II”
the Weekender ::: New music from Catcall // the National // Summer Camp
KNIFE PARTY – RAGE VALLEY EP
