Come Pick Me Up at Wordpress I am in the process of moving the entirety of Come Pick Me Up over to Wordpress. Quite frankly, my template on Blogger - though it has served me fairly well for the past 5 years - was rudimentary and outdated. It was time for a change, and the Wordpress' ease of use far surpasses anything I have been able to do with Blogger. [...]
"Why look for the living among the dead?" One of my favorite finds in the past six months comes by way of Springfield five-piece the Mariner . After the mostly random discovery some months ago, I have been keeping a close eye on the new band and their undertakings. When given the direct opportunity to post two new downloadable tracks here on the site, I leapt to oblige. Vocalist and guitar player Chase Castor channels the influence and vocal stylings of [...]
"I am just an actor upon this stage." From the English coastal suburb of South Sheilds, located not far outside of Newcastle, comes the moodily beautiful and eclectic indie folk stylings of Minotaurs . I am mindlessly excited about this band. After forming in the 2006, and garnering some critical acclaim from Guardian columnist Laura Barton and the release of their Anyone Who Had A Heart EP, the band is gearing up to drop their beautifully crafted debut full-lenth on [...]
"Something has to budge before the end of the week." The brains behind the operation of the "illustrated indie rock" duo Uniform Motion consist of two very distinct collaborative ideas. French graphic designer Renaud Forestier and English musician Andrew Richards have united their respective trades to render a number of audio/visual projects- music, video, graphic comic strips. The new album Life is available as a "name your price" purchase via Bandcamp . [...]
"All homemade things bust." Thanks to my new favorite site Song, By Toad , I can across a great Scottish band that I had, up until last week, not even heard as much as a minor mention of in the five years since their existence. The Scottish Enlightenment has a new 3-track EP, after which a soon to be released full-length will follow via Glasgow's Armellodie Records. The track featured below is a brilliantly simple, melodic, and hauntingly beautiful introduction to [...]
"All homemade things bust." Thanks to the my favorite new site Song, By Toad , I came across a great band from Aberdeen that I had, up until a week ago, not even heard so much as a mention of in the five years since their existence. The Scottish Enlightenment has a new 3-track EP, after which [...]
"A new prescription with a different name, but it tastes the same." Last time I checked in on the happenings of Isaac Russell , he was just an ultra talented and painfully underrated young kid from Utah. Now he has, thankfully, shed his old moniker Ruru, signed with Columbia Records, and is currently on tour with Pete Yorn. The cut below will appear on Isaac's major label EP debut, but is taken from his previous album Elizabeth. The album was recorded [...]
"Don't let me disappear." The newest edition to one of my favorite UK-based indie labels Alcopop! is out to impress. I've been spinning their track "Alexander" for some time now, and look forward to the forthcoming Strong Arms single release (May 31st via Alcopop!) from Folkestone's Elephants . The track featured below is an acoustic version of "For Laika", which appeared on the band's Lions EP. No excuse to miss the band play [...]
"Sometimes it's like trying to breathe through a pillow." The new ensemble, and recent favorites of mine, from Glasgow has already been featured previously on the site ( Brother Louis Collective ), but a new band name and an album released in Europe today calls for some new hurrahs. Admiral Fallow 's debut full length Boots Met My Face is a ten track collection of one song more perfect and brilliant than the next. My favorite cut is included [...]
"I fell and landed straight at your feet." For better or worse, this song has been invading my every conscious moment for the past few days. Well done, Canterbury . The young band from England's South coast just released their new track "Gloria" earlier this month as a free download. The song, the chorus especially, is a great bit of standard pop/rock that I am very to happy to have stumbled upon. Download the band's older album Thank [...]
"I am the captain of a ship that's going down." Once inexplicably dubbed Ross Clark & the Scarfs Go Missing , the Glasgow folk rock four-piece Three Blind Wolves are back with a new name and an even newer album. The Sound of the Storm was released two weeks ago, and contains six tracks of Scottish alt-country gems. The album launch was this past weekend, but the band has a smattering of shows throughout Scotland in the upcoming months [...]
Song, By Toad I've added a new site to the blog roll, and I think you should all check it out. Besides being a very simple and beautiful site, I find myself having nearly identical taste in music with site owner Matthew Young. He operates out of Edinburgh and thus has his finger situated dead center on the pulse of Scottish music. In addition to the general music musings, reviews, and podcasts, the [...]
"I slept on the solid ground near your house." The eclectic Chicago indie-rock 4 piece Maps & Atlases just announced the summer release of their new record entitled Perch Patchwork. The release comes by way of Barsuk Records, and hits shelves on June 29. The band's upcoming spring tour takes them coast to coast and has them playing with my personal favorites Frightened Rabbit . Fans of the band's prior EPs know [...]
"The journey is ending, but all is not lost." Probably more than anyone, I love a good bit of self-deprecation. I am convinced, however, that middle England's 3 piece Calories are selling themselves a bit short by facetiously claiming that they are "officially the 4th best band in Birmingham ever." The band's gritty and original post-punk fits well on the roster at Oxford indie Big Scary Monsters . The label released the new EP [...]
As a reminder for any readers on Twitter, you can follow me, @lizkjones , for site related news and new band tips, videos, or other random musings. I also write over at TheMusicTheMessage.com , and post any show review/band interview updates to my Twitter page.
"Time will forget us." I keep my eyes and ears peeled for news to come around from my favorite UK indie label Big Scary Monsters . The announcement that the label would release the debut EP from Falmouth's Tall Ships came over a month and a half ago, but it's only in the recent weeks that I've come to fully appreciate how fantastic the new EP really is. The band dabbles mostly in the instrumental [...]
My mini-recap of the Temper Trap show this past Tuesday in Minneapolis can be read over at The Music, The Message . http://themusicthemessage.com/ concert-reviews/the-temper-tra p/the-temper-trap-the-kissaway -trail
The Kissaway Trail - SDP from Bella Union on Vimeo . All the way from Odense, Denmark comes new(ish) indie progsters the Kissaway Trail . The band currently finds themselves playing to large crowds at this year's SXSW festival, but will continue touring in [...]
"All my questions still ask for answers." Since my favorite band Cherbourg called it quits a few months ago, I've been looking for a new band to fill the role. Selkirk, Scotland band Frightened Rabbit may have taken the crown long before I even realized it. The follow-up to their much acclaimed disc The Midnight Organ Fight , a long-time favorite of mine and album about which I could wax poetic, was released in the States this past [...]
We Were Promised Jetpacks, performing "A Far Cry" I was able to catch Scotland's We Were Promised Jetpacks last night as they swung through Minneapolis to play the recently renovated Varsity Theater. It's astounding to witness the quick, but still wholly deserved, success and acclaim the young band has acquired at seemingly breakneck speed. The band's debut album "These Four Walls" was released just last summer and they already find themselves headlining a small U.S. [...]
Come Pick Me Up
The Shins: “September” (b-side of “Simple Song” 7”)
St. Vincent - 'Cheerleader'
Jay-Z & Kanye West - Ni**as In Paris (Explicit)
OK Go - Needing/Getting - Official Video
M.I.A. - Bad Girls (Official Video)
Miike Snow – Paddling Out (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
