We discovered The Builders and the Butchers while writing about Loch Lomond (with whom they share a split 12 in. release back in 2007). Since then the band from Portland (although all 5 members were raised in Alaska) has released their self-titled debut back in 2007, an amazing follow-up Salvation Is A Deep Dark Well last year and a self-released live album this year titled Where The Roots All Grow. Their music is a tribute to pre-19502s American music, with acoustic bass, drum, guitar, banjo, and mandolin. Hearing these guys, they reminded me of the good 'Rid of Me' era [...]
Don't know much about these guys besides the following facts. Their names are Carl and Axel, they are from Stockholm and they produce beautiful indie pop in the footsteps of Radio Dept. Melancholic and sunny pop blend together with dirty beats, guitars and a haunting voice producing a sound that simply can't go unnoticed. So far they have self released their debut EP back in 2007 and are now offering their latest release titled A Slight Change of Light for free from Lit de Parade site here (simply click on Television's link at the top). The record is [...]
This is why we love (although never managed to attend so far) SXSW festival; it gives you the chance to discover new artists. CALLmeKAT is the solo project by Copenhagen-based Katrine Ottosen. She released her debut back in 2008 titled Fall Down (which we obviously missed). Her music is somewhere between experimental and dream pop, with a moody baseline and light jazz influences. Nothing extraordinarily new, but the way the music ties in with her sensual voice is what makes it stand out. She is currently touring the US and is preparing her international debut titled When Owls Are Out. [...]
I'm preparing tomorrow's show (a tribute to Canada) and while seeking through my mp3 library I stumbled upon Apollo Ghosts. Needless to say they were immediately added on our playlist. This three-piece from Vancouver play simple but amazing indie rock that reminds me of the good old Seattle days. A quick search revealed an album (Hastings Sunrise) and an EP (Forgotten Triangle) along with some new material coming up on Geographing Records . Here are a couple of videos and tracks for you to enjoy. Check them out...they're worth it! Apollo Ghosts [...]
How on earth did we miss this one? Our fellow blogger Zeugolator did warn us last year but we somehow still managed to oversee it. Winter Gloves are an indie band from Montreal that make incredible indie songs. Their debut About a Girl was released last year and should have been on our top list...but I guess it's never to late. Their track Invisible is just playing endlessly for the last couple of days and the rest of the album is equally briliant. Don't miss it (like we did)! Winter [...]
This is yet another of those bands that we've come across from time to time but never really paid enough attention in order to recall later on. Jason Molina is the man behind this act and has already realeased a dozen (or more) records under the name Songs:Ohia before recording his last LP titled Magnolia Electric Co. This signaled the stage name change to Magnolia Electric Co along with a few more albums, until we reach this year's latest release titled Josephine. Jason's music is sweet lo-fi folk with elements of alt-country that bring obvious comparisons to the master Will [...]
I though of reviving the old theme of 'Things we Missed' and what a better way than with another Swedish band! Those Dancing Days is an all girls band from Stockholm that brings memories of those all-girl bands back in the 60's. They officially released their first album back in 2008 titled In Our Space Hero Suits and it is simply adorable (how on earth did we miss it?). The pure essence of Swedish music...Enjoy! Those Dancing Days - Those Dancing Days [...]
The Dø are pop duo from France and Finland (Dan Levy from Paris and Olivia Bouyssou Merilahti Helsinki). Their debut album A Mouthful was released like year and we somehow missed it. The Dø - Tammie Their debut mixes different styles from folk to rap to pure pop. I have to admit that in some songs this mix sounds a bit too strange. I personally prefer their folk and pure pop melodies, which highlight Olivia's sweet voice (any resemblance to Nina Person is [...]
This should have been the first post to open up the new year here in Athens66. Never mind that though, this album is still worth posting about. It could have actually even been a contender for our Top 100 albums of the year if we hadn't ignored it the entire year (only to discover it on the last week of December). This is the self-titled (but actually their third release) album from The New Year
I thought of starting out the new year with a post from the past instead of the future. Today's clip comes from San Francisco's Three More Shallows. A genuine indie band that somehow I hadn't noticed all these years (even though they already have 3 full records). I've probably heard a track from them in the past but never really came back to check up on their stuff. The band blends indie with
Talkdemonic is a post rock/experimental indie rock duo from Portland, Oregon, which combines folk, rock and symphonic music in a unique instrumental journey. The band (Lisa Molinaro on viola and cello and Kevin O'Connor on drums, synths, guitars and everything else) has been together since 2002 and have already released three LPs (Mutinysunshine in 2004, Beat Romantic in 2006 and Eyes at Half
Everyone has been posting about Mogwai's latest album, which while it's not all that bad, it hasn't won me over yet (and don't think it will since it doesn't progress their sound at all). So instead, I decided to post about another post rock band coming from the other side of the world, Japan's Miaou. Miaou were formed in 1999 by Tatsuki Hamasaki and sisters Mayumi and Hiromi Hasegawa. They
Our next tribute to the Swedish pop scene is one of my favorites. A 7-piece band from Mälmo, Billie the Vision & the Dancers are the epitome of pop, from chamber to folk, indie and twee…just add pop next to it and you've got their sound spot on. From their first album back in 2004 I Was So Unpopular In School and Now They're Giving Me This Beautiful Bicycle to their latest I Used to Wander These
Continuing on this week's quest of re-discovering Swedish pop bands, today we're looking back on a man who has been associated with numerous Labrador projects, Johan Angergård. From Acid House Kings to Club 8, Johan is one of the most successful Swedish producers/musicians. However, in this post we are looking at one of his other projects, The Legends. The Legends started off in 2004 with their
Envelopes is an indie-pop band consisting of members from Sweden and France, two countries with deep heritage in pop music. They made their debut back in 2005 with Demon and followed it up with Here Comes the Wind back in February of 2008. Their music is the epitome of musical influences, evident throughout their albums and sometimes even on a single song. From Talking Heads to Pixies and
The Pop Project is a pop (obviously) band from Detroit that's been around for almost a decade (although it just came to my attention from the band's bassist Will Yates who is also playing for Zoos of Berlin). After their initial release back in 1999 and their second full album Let's Eat Green Beans in 2001 (both of which I haven't been able to find anywhere), they are back (a couple of months ago
Great Northern is yet another of those great bands that went unnoticed (at least by us) last year, although they delivered an exceptional debut. The LA based quartet delivers folk-rock with a mix of dream pop and in their debut album Trading Twilight for Daylight (on Eenie Meenie Records) produced such an amazingly mature sound that is hard to believe that the record is actually their debut LP.
Scissors for Lefty are a five-piece band from San Francisco flirting with both post-punk indie and Brit-pop. Their sound is genuinely upbeat pop/rock which is instantly likeable. The band released their first album Bruno back in 2005 and followed-up with Underhanded Romance in 2007. I'm sure I've heard their songs in various places before (at Pop probably) but never got around to match the song
Athens66
A-Trak - "Round of Applause" / "Where My Money At" (MP3 Download)
Diplo - "Climax" (MP3 Stream)
Out This Week 2/14
Sleigh Bells: ‘Reign of Terror’ full album stream
Jackback Feat. David Guetta & Nicky Romero – Wild One Two
