Blog: Stark Online

It sounds exactly how you think it would...

Next week marks the widespread release of You Won't's album Skeptic Goodbye - courtesy of our buds at Old Flame Records. We loved them at CMJ and have high hopes for them heading into SXSW.

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[mp3] Summer Camp: "Better Off Without You" It's been a quick moment since we checked in on our friends from the UK Summer Camp . Last year saw the release of their highly lauded debut album ' Welcome to Condale .' It's always an event when they make it to the states - so if you missed them last night at Mercury Lounge, you can catch them tonight at Glasslands. See you there. Just listening to the song above should be enough to convince you it's worth it.

• Summer Camp: "Better Off Without You" » xdzu5sx84j9gzn6lrqfp.mp3

[mp3] Bahamas: "I Got You Babe" We've been watching the development of Bahamas , aka Afie Jurvanen, since his last outing Pink Strat . Today Bahamas drops Barchords via Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records, and plays a release day show at the Mercury Lounge at 7pm. From all accounts, Jurvanen is a captivating live performer and we're looking forward to checking out the show and continuing to dig into Barchords . You can get a sense of the organic approach Jurvanen takes to his writing in [...]

• Bahamas - I Got You Babe

This is excellent: Filmed in Auckland in late 2011, the video was directed by Tabitha Denholm, who has previously worked with Florence & The Machine. The 'Black White & Blue' video is a homage to the 1970's classic film 'The Eyes Of Laura Mars', starring Faye Dunaway. Anxiety will be out in the US on March 27th via Modular/Casablanca Records.

This is how I learned Karate when I was born...

Cute.

Then - there's also this:

[mp3] Sophia Knapp: "Close to Me" I'm pretty sure I'm not listening to enough new disco stuff. I dabbled in the fleeting joy that was Music Go Music. God, that was a slick band. Not sure whatever happened to them. Sophia Knapp captures that pseudo-indie disco vibe of the late 70s... you know when those great artists you loved from the 60s moved to LA and started making really polished and coked out new music. I don't mean that to detract from Knapp at all, this is a super tasty [...]

• Sophia Knapp - Close To Me

We're very intrigued by this lovely little tune from the duo Rhye . Fader writes: "they're both members of other (possibly well-known) bands. Her voice may be recognizable to some: it's immaculate." We're going with Sade. That's my final answer. Video to follow next week, the EP comes 2/7 on Innovative Leisure.

[mp3] Mark Lanegan: "The Gravedigger's Song" While nowhere near true experts on Mark Lanegan's full career catalog dating back to his role as frontman for Screaming Trees, his new album Blues Funeral (2/7 4AD) has been on fairly constant rotation at Stark HQ. Dark, brooding, dramatic and well-written Blues Funeral's lead track "The Gravedigger's Song" got the video treatment last week directed by Alistair Legrand and produced by Jack Richardson.

• Mark Lanegan: "The Gravedigger's Song" » thegravediggerssong.mp3

We've been hearing about Australia's very own POND for some time now. They just released "Moth Wings," the second single from their upcoming record, Beard, Wives, Denim out March 6 on Modular Recordings. Dig it above. Has some balls eh?

This is my new series...hope you enjoy. When you see videos in this column, they have or definitely will click the 'viral' button. You want the viral? This is a one-stop-shop.

If you've never heard of Marisa Monte , and tell that to a Brazilian, they will look at you as if you said you had never heard of Madonna. Monte has amassed stellar catalog dating back to 1989 and can easily sell out the Beacon in New York, despite not yet being a household US name. Monte has collaborated with the biggest names in Brazilian music, and of course, Brazil's un-offical US ambassador David Byrne. The facts are staggering: "The "Infinito Ao Meu Redor" worldwide tour... hit 140 shows throughout 50 cities in 15 countries across 4 continents. Monte [...]

The War on Drugs - Brothers from Secretly Jag on Vimeo . How ironic?

We had this post flagged last week, but of course, being the lazy bloggers we are, we sat on it and now P4K named it best new track, and now we just look like those schmucky second rate guys that... ANYWAY! This is a solid song that according to Larry Fitzmaurice is "slithery" enough to use that adjective twice in one review... but we digress. "Sulk" doesn't rewrite the book on goth-synth, but is solid enough to file next to your recent Cold Cave albums, which is very good company indeed. Trust also features Maya Postepski from the [...]

[mp3] Twilight Sad: "Another Bed" Today we got a taste of the new Twilight Sad song "Another Bed" and it's fantastic. Their past material had a tendency for slower post-punk dirges interspersed with several excellent more pop-minded songs. Yet, with today's track, it seems that these scots have take a turn for the new and exciting, which makes us extremely excited for the new album No One Can Ever Know which comes out Feb 7. Enjoy the unsettling video above, and check out the cool items they [...]

• The Twilight Sad - Another Bed

Admittedly, we missed Saint Etienne in their prime (not our fault) - but have reaped the benefits of their amazing catalog due to the recent re-issues and crate digging through various "used" piles. Luckily, we have a taste of new music from them for the fist time in 7 years. Via P4K : St. Etienne's Bob Stanley (who has contributed to Pitchfork) says the track is "about the anticipation of going to see your favourite artist. For some reason, I imagine this show is at the Forum in Kentish Town. The whole album is about [...]

Today Norah Jones announced the release of her new album Little Broken Hearts (Blue Note/EMI), a collaboration with the producer and musician Danger Mouse , dropping this spring. Of course, this partnership was formed during their collaboration on the much acclaimed album ROME . Jones and Danger Mouse share the songwriting credits and perform the majority of the instrumental parts; Jones on piano, keyboards, bass, and guitar, and Danger Mouse contributing drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, and string arrangements. Norah Jones will be touring heavily around this release leading into the [...]