Blog: See What You Hear.com

Joseph Childress - Chariots [Exclusive] After championing 'Animal' as one of my favourite tracks of last year , I've finally got a copy of Joseph Childress' debut album, The Rebirths , and have barely stopped playing it all week. It's difficult to make an album with just an acoustic guitar and still absorb the listener right the way through, but there's such a variety of so ideas and styles in here that it stays fresh and engaging. The Rebirths was recorded with Mike Coykendall (engineer behind M. Ward's early albums) [...]

Beach House - Norway (Live) A third album from Beach House is on the way and after a couple of listens, I can already tell that there are some future classics on there: namely 'Zebra', 'Norway' and 'Walk in the Park' (songs you'll have heard if you've seen Beach House in the last six months). In fact all the strongest tracks come in the first half, which will make for a great Side A, before the momentum slows and tapers off somewhat into the band's template of old. In that sense Teen Dream is [...]

Marvins Revolt - Organize Your Arms Marvins Revolt are a Danish trio with just the kind of bubbly pop-rock you need to race through to the weekend. Their third album, Patrolling the Heights , will be released next week on Richter Collective with an extensive European tour about to get underway. In the meantime you can grab this tune as a free download here . Official [...]

• Marvins Revolt - Organize Your Arms

Fan-made video for my favourite track on the Atlas Sound album, Logos , which is definitely worth tracking down. It almost seems Deerhunter cast-off; maybe that's why I like it. A European tour begins in London's Cargo on November 15th, concluding in Whelan's in Dublin on 21st.

Summer Camp - I Only Have Eyes For You A nice cover version by a band you're sure to hear more of. Seven Swedish friends who met at summer camp when they were 14, tackling a classic made famous by the Flamingos. They're living in London now, apparently, so hopefully there'll be a show or two on the horizon. In the meantime it won't be winter as long as we keep playing songs like this; promise. MySpace Photo by akicQ, [...]

Von Haze - Sooner or Later Though I caught these guys last night, picked up their 73 and will be seeing them again tomorrow, so far I am more intrigued than anything else. A male/female duo from Brooklyn by way of Michigan, Von Haze are one of those acts where the few people who have heard them seem smitten. They produce languid, drone-driven sequences of decay and beauty; breathy vocals distorted so you can barely hear a word, but backed by a fizzing drum machine, thrashy guitar and a sultry-sounding keyboard. The single in question is [...]

The power of the voice, unadorned. If your week needs a little lift already, look no further. I was lucky enough to see Smokey perform live in a relatively small room last week, and while he didn't sing this one, he's still got it.

I can't remember the last time I got 'in the spirit' for Halloween, so I thought I'd make this mixtape: a collection of spooky, autumnal tunes for walking 'round the suburbs after dark, through the leaves, discarded fireworks and candy wrappers. But I also wanted it to be a half-decent mix for anytime of the year. Some of them may not seem particularly creepy on the face of it. But the Grizzly Bear live take, for instance, is a stripped down version with spooky "oooh" harmonies and an opening line ("in this old house [...]

I go to a lot of gigs. An abnormal amount, it would seem. Until recently I couldn't have put a number on how many concerts I've been to. I started early: When I was eight months in the womb, my parents were at a John Lee Hooker show in Greenwich Village; my dad started taking me to concerts on school nights way before I was old enough to appreciate what was going on (seeing the likes of Buddy Guy, Little Village, KD Lang, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Ely, Eric Clapton) and in 2009 alone I've already been to 70 shows. [...]

Dan Michaelson and the Coastguards - Thirteen Bit of an honour for the blog today as Dan Michaelson kindly took the time to cover this classic ballad about teenage romance by America's finest power-pop group, Big Star. It has always been a cult favourite, covered by the likes of Wilco, Elliot Smith, and Garbage, but Michaelson's gentle growl adds a warmth and intimacy that does it justice. Dan Michaelson and the Coastguards begin a UK tour next week, starting in Southampton Joiners on October 4th and concluding in London's Luminaire a month later (full dates below). [...]

Veronica Falls - Found Love in a Graveyard Writing a catchy song about falling in love with a ghost can't be the easiest thing, but there's so much in this song to like: the structure, the imagery, the way the hooks link in together, the use of 'dearly departed' - damn! There are only two tracks to speak of so far (the equally catchy 'Beachy Head' being the other), but they've played a handful of shows with fellow twee tappers the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and the Pastels - with talk of an imminent [...]

Quite a cool chalkboard animation - it's almost nauseating to think of the amount of time and effort that had to be put into this, but they got it just right. Firekites are an Australian collective with a folkish bent, recording the hush tones of their debut album The Bowery in the vacant dancehall-cum-bookstore it was named after. Though the line-up has been revolving, the band have been out on the road supporting the likes of School of Seven Bells, Iron & Wine, Laura Marling, Bill Callahan, Stars and The Tallest Man on Earth - their song, 'Last [...]

The Bitters - Warrior Fucked Up's Ben Cook, the man behind this blast of woozy lo-fi garage, has just announced a new 73 entitled East which will ship from Captured Tracks on Monday - you can get even get all six new releases the label has in one bargain swoop. In the meantime you can read a recent Q&A with the duo where Cook explains how he has put his kleptomaniac ways behind him. MySpace Buy [...]

Twi the Humble Feather - Higher Than the End Speaking of Animal Collective, this trio from New York have had to deal with their fair share of comparisons to AC; but when I saw them live the other night, it didn't even cross my mind. The encounters of Twi, an "interstellar adventurer" are mapped out by three classical guitarists whose hushed and hocketing vocals absorb you into the trail. Their album Music for Spaceships & Forests is out now on Friendly Ghost Recordings. [...]

YouTube is full of well-intended but utlimately awful-sounding cover versions by overzealous fans. This intrumental take on AC's 'Bluish' was inspired by someone else's particularly cringe-worthy attempt and it does what all good covers should do: accentuate the best parts of the original in a way that will make you appreciate it differently.

Beach Fossils - Daydream I think this song perfectly encapsulates my mood right now: dizzily tired and looking forward to the rest of the weekend. I'm on the cusp of a lie-in, followed by a small festival, followed by an all-night party. When I blogged about Beach Fossils back in June, little was known about Dustin Payseur but he's had a hand in soundtracking the summer just gone for all those hooked on the best new music the blogosphere can turn up. Since then New York Magazine has profiled the 23-year-old, revealing that he was about [...]

Alex Bleeker & the Freaks - Spring Jam This is the sound of the weeking fading out into slumber: like the wispy coda to a classic Neil Young song or a lethargic take on those classic dad rock anthems about sunny open freeways, girls and everything being all right now. I have it on good authority that the forthcoming album from Alex Bleeker and the Freaks, a splinter project of Real Estate's bassist, is killer. And you can hear an extreme lo-fi cover of Mountain Man's 'Animal Tracks' (posted earlier in the week) on their [...]

Pushkin - Casual Dismount Headed to Ten Years of ATP in December? Then you're likely to enjoy the sounds of Pushkin, a five-piece from the backwoods of Wicklow, Ireland, whose fiddly instrumental jams are about synchronising seamlessly into the one groove. None of that tired build-up-to-a-crescendo-and-br eak nonsense, this is pin-point accurate post-rock that never tires. For the time being, their five-song EP is only available at shows but a release on the awesome Richter Collective label is on the horizon. MySpace Photo by [...]

Desolation Wilderness - Boardwalk Theme 'Come Over in Your Silver Car' has become a firm favourite since I blogged about it February but already the band are back with a new album, New Universe, their second for K Records - and it makes for hazy nap-time music just as well. The trio will hit the UK next month, taking in London, Leeds, York, Nottingham and Belfast. MySpace Band blog Photo by julinemeo , licensed [...]

Autolux – Audience No. 2.mp3] Autolux - Audience No. 2 It's been five years since Autolux made their debut with Future Perfect but they're currently on tour around the States and today announced that a 73 of 'Transit Transit' will available to buy online in the forthcoming weeks. Hopefully this isn't just another tease and we are edging that bit closer to long-awaited album, on which this track will feature It's a good one - let it light up your night. MySpace [...]