Blog: What's on the Hi-Fi

Bikini Machine "Good Morning" From The Full Album Platinum Records (2009) Listen to "Good Morning" MP3 France's Bikini Machine (whose name is taken from the B-movie Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine ) thrive on inspiration [...]

Woodlands "Can We Stay" From The Woodlands Self-Released (2009) There is a touching intimacy to the track "Can We Stay" that can only be attributed to a wonderful love affair. Portland, OR natives Woodlands are just that. The husband and wife duo (Hannah & Samuel Robertson) have created a lush and evocative song that calls out from a warm and gentle place of yearning and deep need. Hannah Robertson's voice is a light that peers through a world of emotion and wonder. They are definitely a duo to watch. [...]

The Woodlands "Can We Stay" From The Woodlands Self-Released (2009) There is a touching intimacy to the track "Can We Stay" that can only be attributed to a wonderful love affair. Portland, OR natives The Woodlands are just that. The husband and wife duo (Hannah & Samuel Robertson) have created a lush and evocative song that calls out from a warm and gentle place of yearning and deep need. Hannah Robertson's voice is a light that peers through a world of emotion and wonder. They are definitely a duo [...]

Brooklyn based Mux Mool, by way of Minnesota, has made amazing strides in the music industry since he captured iTunes "Best of" in 2006 with the song "Lost and Found" . He has really gotten traction lately with his slowed down and minimized update of Snap's, 1992, top 5 US hit "Rhythm Is a Dancer". The original released as a single from the album The Madman's Return was written by Benito Benitez, John 'Virgo' Garrett III (aliases for German producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti), The track is back again and looks to score [...]

Listen to "Really Like To See You Again" MP3 "Music for outsiders. Or I should say pop music for outsiders.", is the way that Andy Grier of Thieves Like Us succinctly describes the group's musical universe, a sound which refuses to slot neatly into any particular style. Hailing from the US, Andy (vocals) met Swedes Björn Berglund (keyboards) and Pontus Berghe (drums) while living in Berlin. As a counter to the ubiquitous electro / techno scene, they started [...]

Lusine "Two Dots" From A Certain Distance Ghostly International (2009) Listen to "Two Dots" MP3 "Two Dots" is the first single from the release A Certain Distance from Seattle's Lusine (a/k/a Jeff McIlwain). On this track, McIlwain (a sometimes soundtrack composer) manipulates the organic sounds of drums and strings, setting them off against the crisp, accented vocals of Finland's Vilja Larjosto . The strength of this track lies [...]

Listen to "What's On The Hi-Fi Ep. 4" MP3 "In The Summer In The Heat" - Shannon Stephens We see a broad and bright future from the former Sufjan Stevens bandmate. On the track she bares her soft but not brittle vocals over a richly picked and strummed acoustic guitar and a distant, spare bassline. Asthmatic Kitty Records | MySpace "Words of Love" [...]

• What's On The Hi-Fi Podcast #4

Founded in 1977 by Didier Marouani (also known as Ecama), Roland Romanelli, and Jannick Top, Space first three albums — Magic Fly , Deliverance and Just Blue — sold over 12 million records worldwide and spawned the #1 hit "Magic Fly". Leader Didier Marouani left the band in 1979, but the other two members Roland Romanelli and Jannick Top released the forgettable Deeper Zone under the name of Space. The original lineup was officially disbanded by 1981. Although, Marouani released albums as Didier Marouani & Space and Paris-France-Transit in the 1980's the efforts [...]

Formed in Brighton in 2000, Fujiya & Miyagi are purveyors of the 70's Krautrock popularized by bands such as Can and Neu!. The band's name comes from the now infamous, waxing on and off teacher from The Karate Kid movies and a brand of a record player. They've produced several LP's and remix albums including 2008's Light Bulbs and their songs have found mainstream commercial success being featured in ads ranging from Jaguar to Miller Lite Beer. David (Miyagi) Best of Fujiya & Miyagi was kind enough to give us a [...]

Shannon Wright "Tall Countryside" from Honeybee Girls Vicious Circle (2009) Listen to "Tall Countryside" MP3 Wright's "Tall Countryside" from her album Honeybee Girls is a beautiful and melodic piece that combines her soft, commanding voice, a steady fingered guitar and a lonely snare drum keeping time. It feels like a walk through the woods on a distant, autumn afternoon watching the [...]

With New York bracing with excitement for the upcoming CMJ NYC 2009 (October 20-24), we've put together our list of favourite bands to watch out for this year. We will add a supplement list at the end of the week. Check back in! Care Bears On Fire October 20 @ Bowery Ballroom - 6 Delancey St. 7:00PM to 8:00PM MySpace Mon Khmer [...]

Department of Eagles "No One Does It Like You" Every once in a while you stumble on a real gem of a video by a really great band. Although, much of Daniel from Department of Eagles time has been spent with Grizzly Bear, they did release "No One Does It Like You" as a special showing at the MOMA a few months back. The video, directed by Patrick Daughters and Marcel Dzama, is equal parts Pink Floyd "The Wall", The Red Shoes dance/musical from the 30's and Monty Python's Meaning of Life... oh [...]

The Limes Self-Titled September 2009 Sauvage Records Listen to "Beyond Blue" MP3 The Limes must surely be the only North Carolina / Paris band around. Started in 2006 as a transatlantic writing project, David Simonetta (Paris), Brent Ballantyne (Durham, NC), Orouni (Paris), John Hale (Carrboro, NC) and Mina Tindle (Paris) have now released a cinematic self-titled collection of songs which run the gamut of styles. Tracks range from the sunny [...]

Frànçois is an artist (both musical and visual) who deftly melds the influences of his native France with those of his adopted home of Bristol. His lo-fi indie pop is at once warm and intimate and often unabashedly joyous. There is a welcome unhurried and ambeling feel to his naive songcraft and a soft reassurance in his reserved vocals, combining to lay out landscapes often plucked from Frànçois' passions and memories, as is the case on the beautiful EP Her River Raves Recollections . A true delight. Look for Frànçois' releases on [...]

Memory Tapes "Bicycle" from Seek Magic Acephale Records / Sincerely Yours, 2009 Listen to "Bicycle" MP3 Weird Tapes, Memory Cassette and Memory Tapes are all monikers of one-man-band Dayve Hawk who has recently released his first full-length Seek Magic . Liquid mercury tracks stream along on drum machine beats, detailed layered melodies and Dayve's pitched and muted vocals, creating an album of energized, but confidently chilled, electro-pop [...]

Norman Palm "Boys Don't Cry" From Songs Ratio Records / Morr Music, 2009 Listen to "Boys Don't Cry" MP3 Along the way between Berlin, Paris and Mexico City, Norman Palm assembled a mesmerizing collection of often winsome songs, pairing each with his own artwork to create the unique release / book entitled Songs . The original run published by Ratio Records having [...]

Don't Wait Animate "6174" Album to be released in 2010 Listen to "6174" MP3 Fusing indie and dubstep, Londoners Don't Wait Animate create a terrifically warped and frenetic vibe, which as the story goes, was first christened "strumstep" by an excited (and rather lit) fan after a show. Each of the members of this five-piece brings to the group varied musical influences and affinities, and together they meticulously [...]

Wild Beasts Two Dancers Domino Recordings (2009) Download: "The Fun Powder Plot " The four piece out of Leeds in the UK are a young bunch with one album under their belts and a good amount of praise already heaped upon them. On Two Dancers the group has crafted an often spellbinding, daring and ultimately charming album. I am always a bit suspicious of an album that is sung almost entirely in falsetto. It's a personal thing but it often strikes me as overly theatrical and [...]

[ingenting] "Halleluja!" from Tomhet; idel tomhet Labrador 2009 Listen to "Halleluja" MP3 Thanks go out to Kristian Dahl of Lacrosse for turning us on to this steller pop track from Sweden's [ingenting]! "Halleluja!", sung in Swedish, confidently swaggers along on Brit-pop riffs and a joyous melodic chorus. Its no wonder why this indie-pop track has been a top play on Swedish radio over [...]

Listen to "What's On The Hi-Fi Ep. 3" MP3 "Lust For Life" - GIRLS Christopher Owens formed GIRLS in San Francisco with ladykiller Chet "JR" White when his former band Curls dissolved in 2006. After a buzz filled showcase at SXSW and a quirky video making the rounds for "Lust For Life" the band is mounted to take a huge leap in 2010. MySpace [...]

• What's On The Hi-Fi - What's On The Hi-Fi Podcast #3