[ download ] It's been a while since Datarock self-released their full-length debut (the cheekily titled Datarock Datarock ) in 2005. Since then, the track jacket-clad Norwegians found themselves major label U.S. distribution and have had their music featured in commercials by Apple and Coca-Cola, not to mention six separate video games. All of which means that Datarock's sound, if not their name, is now recognized across the world. So how have the intervening years and success changed the sound on their upcoming September 1st release, RED ? [...]
[ download ] Finland's Burning Hearts have their roots in two very enjoyable, under the radar indie-pop acts: Jessika Rapo is the vocalist for the Stereolab-ish Le Futur Pompiste , while multi-instrumentalist Henry Ojala spends his time as the drummer for the more guitar rooted Cats on Fire . In 2004, the bands toured Sweden together, sowing the seeds for a collaboration that will appeal to fans of acts like Magnetic Fields, Sambassadeur, and The Concretes. "I Lost My Colour Vision" shows an appreciation for low-budget synthesizers-the first sound [...]
[ download ] As Post Honeymoon , Nick Kraska and Rachel Shindelman make the sort of music married couples shouldn't be capable of: angry, hard-charging, and tinged with darkness. Instead of serving up wimpy love ballads, the duo gives you the equivalent of watching a well-choreographed fight-and lets be honest, sometimes you need the latter much more than the former. "Night Guard" grows out of its first movement-which is a flurry of battered drums, gnarled guitar, and barked vocals-into a chorus that is deceptively melodic. As a listener, you can't help [...]
One Track Mind's first month was a great one-thanks for coming along for the ride! At the beginning of each month, we'll offer all of the songs from the previous month in one convenient download. Click here to download the May MP3 Rewind featuring the following tracks: Helado Negro "Deja" Cause Co-Motion! "You Lose" Naomi Shelton "What Have You Done?" Major Lazer "Hold the Line" Little Big Adventure "Happiest Times" Anjulie "Boom" Miike Snow [...]
[ download ] Sweden's Liechtenstein (a confusing couplet, I know) make no pretense about what makes their musical heart beat. The all-girl trio are trudging down the same path as Talulah Gosh and Black Tambourine before them, forging a sonic sisterhood on a premise of amped-up distortion, simple, Beat Happening styled drumbeats, and disaffected vocal harmonies. Title aside, "Roses in the Park" is low on melodrama and high on ba-da-bas, digging its heels in from the opening notes and powering straight ahead for the duration. [...]
[ download ] Their record label describes Stockholm's O'Spada as "a bastard child between Prince, Jackson 5, and Justice," and while that's a good start, it's more accurate to describe them as a synthesis of acts that aspire toward such an amalgamation (think Junior Senior or fellow Swede Juvelen ). For a debut single, "Time" is confident and crisply produced. Vocalist and band namesake Julia Spada has an expert handle on the early 1980s fauxsetto approach and the backing track has both the funkiness of a [...]
[ download ] When YACHT released their "Summer Song" single last year (along with its fantastic video ), I was instantly taken by their more avant-garde take on the New York City dancepunktronicawhatever sound. The duo is comprised of Jona Bechtolt (formerly of The Blow ) and Claire L. Evans, who-as the story goes-created "Summer Song" as a love letter of sorts to DFA's James Murphy , who then proceeded to sign the act. Suffice to say I've been chomping at the bit to hear more from [...]
[ download ] Belle & Sebastian 's Stuart Murdoch is unquestionably one of the preeminent songwriters of the past fifteen years, his lyrics imbued with an erudite poeticism and his songcraft built around timeless, lilting melodies. On June 23rd, Murdoch will release an album under the moniker God Help the Girl, a project four years in the making. The record is essentially a musical narrative for songs (a couple of which will be familiar to B&S fans) that Murdoch preferred someone else to sing. That means we get folks like Neil [...]
[ download ] When I saw that Juan Maclean had remixed Sneaky Sound System , I decided to give the Australian trio a listen... only to realize that I already knew the original version of "When We Were Young" so well that I was singing along. A shade embarrassing, perhaps, but nonetheless a testament to how much success the act has had lately, topping the Aussie charts and getting worked and re-worked into many a DJ mix. Given the house tradition for club-friendly, extended mixes, it isn't a surprise that [...]
[ download ] Over rippling delay effects and Joey Cook's hushed vocals, Pomegranates embark on a kaleidoscopic voyage on "Corriander," a track from their recently released sophomore effort, Everybody, Come Outside! The song is understated and even pretty (sorry guys), its passageways winding but not needlessly ornamented. Think of The Decemberists' style of storytelling but substitute prog-rock and classic rock keyboard breakdowns in place of sea shanties and campfire tales. On "Corriander," there is a lot of empty space between the notes; this is [...]
[ download ] If you're looking for a micro-study on globalization, look no further than Love in October , a band formed by two Swedish brothers who moved to Chicago and rounded out their lineup with members from Mexico, India, and Canada. (Seriously, they're like a mini United Nations unto themselves.) On "Like Nothing Ever Happened," culled from their soon to be released self-titled EP, they confirm the expectation that such diversity leads to a sound that has a lot going on. While the song decidedly uptempo, Love in October does [...]
[ download ] Since their inception, The Sounds have possessed a stylistic sheen that eludes most acts. The sound of The Sounds has always been high in confidence, whether it was in the backwards glance of their '80s inspired debut, Living in America , or in the slinky sexuality of their hipster nightlife follow-up, Dying to Say This to You . If "Dorchester Hotel," the lead single from their upcoming Crossing the Rubicon is any indication, that self-confidence has completed its arc; the sonic profile [...]
[ download ] Trust me, when writing about music (and especially when writing about a band signed to the venerable indie-pop label Slumberland Records ) the last thing I want to do is invoke The Strokes . It pains me to do it, but in the case of Bricolage and their just-released self-titled debut, the comparison is unavoidable: the songs on Bricolage veer strongly toward sounding either like those New York City boys or, leaning heavily in another direction, like fellow Glaswegians and genre pioneers Orange Juice [...]
[ download ] Intensity-that's the defining trait on "Ships with Holes Will Sink," the first single from We Were Promised Jetpacks ' upcoming debut full-length . Whether it's in reference to the lyrics (the opening lines are "I think I died this time / Suffered bullet holes and stab wounds in my side"), Darren Lackie's drumstick-shattering, hard pounding beats, or the soaring grit of Adam Thompson's vocals, fury and ferociousness are definitely not in short supply on this track. Although the Edinburgh foursome have youth on their side-the average [...]
[ download ] Listening to New Ruins , you can practically see your boots getting dustier. The Illinois quintet's sophomore record, We Make Our Own Bad Luck , flirts heavily with canyon rock elements without ever crossing the rubicon into Americana or alt-country. Instead, as on "Lake," the twang only functions as an enhancement to the overall sound, complemented by the smoky vocals that (for this listener, at least) call to mind the hurtin' voice of one J Mascis . It is the intersection of these [...]
[ download ] After giving a great many listens to "Madame Shocking," a track from The Silent Years ' forthcoming Let Go EP, my hope is that folks won't abandon it during the flowery, turgid opening but will instead make it through to the quirky, poppy core of the track. Don't get me wrong, the beginning isn't bad; it's just a bit misleading. The passage is a misdirection from what follows: a dynamic sidewinder of a song that isn't content unless it is introducing new wrinkles. This tendency of [...]
[ download ] This song explodes. There's just no other way to describe what happens during the course of "Taller Children," the title track from Elizabeth and the Catapult's sophomore release and their first for the Verve Forecast label. As their new home implies, the sound here is one that takes a progressive attitude toward some traditionally jazzy qualities (female vocals, bopping horn sections, experimental proclivities, etc.). It's smart, too, as you would expect from a group whose 2006 debut EP made it onto NPR's Best CDs of 2006 [...]
[ download ] Mr. Cocker, by virtue of his prominent position as the face of Pulp, has become one of the enduring statesmen of the once remarkable Brit-Pop era. He's right up there with Damon Albarn and Noel Gallagher , except that he's always exuded much more of a genuine coolness than any of his contemporaries, debonair yet approachable, stylish beyond reproach yet somehow still part of the common people . Given his pedigree, Cocker is going to turn some heads with his soon to be released Further [...]
[ download ] Although The Bats predate just about every "indie" label and band around, the New Zealanders have been devastatingly overlooked by most listeners, no doubt in part because of their very sporadic output. (Their upcoming June 23 release, The Guilty Office , is just their seventh full-length in twenty-one years.) However, it's clear that that acts from The Go-Betweens to Belle and Sebastian owe a great debt to the band and their previous gems like the quintessential indie-pop track, " Made Up in Blue ." [...]
One Track Mind
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